The fourth munk V2
by Tryingtowriteprostyle
Summary: How would the fourth munk story go down in the squeakquel world? Find out here. Note: story officially ends on chapter 27. Chapter 28 is a bonus chapter, just for laughs.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Thank you, Los Angles!" Alvin shouted into his headset. "Good night!" Brittany added through her own headset. With that, The Chipmunks and Chipettes closed out the show, and the night. The eight inch tall, furry rock stars had called on to perform a charity concert for the Feed The Children foundation. The six dashed off stage, to a waiting Dave. "You guys were on fire! Chipmunks and Chipettes, together. Always a good idea." 'Aw, thanks, Dave." Eleanor giggled. "Hey, Dave?" Simon asked. 'Yes, Simon?" "Do you know how much money was raised tonight?" "Not exactly, but let's see if we can figure this out. Let's see, I heard one of the supervisors of the concert say that there was about forty thousand people here tonight. And the tickets were eight dollars a pop." "Okay, so, eight times forty thousand…. That comes to about three hundred and twenty thousand dollars!" "Man, that's a lot of Benjamin's." Alvin said. "And they're all going to a good cause. I hope a lot of the needy kids out there get a nice, big meal very soon, because of this." Jeanette said. "That's not all, Jeanette." Dave said. 'There's more?" "Yeah. I saw a whole bunch of people leave for the merchandise stands while you lot were on stage. They came back with a full set of chipmunk and chipette dolls." "Full sets? You mean all six of them?" "That's right." "How many people did you see, Dave?" Eleanor asked. "Oh, I'd say at least thirty. Could've been more, but at least thirty." "Well, Sy?" Alvin asked. "Well, what, Alvin?" "What's the total for the dolls? You're the living calculator here, so tell us non-cyborg chipmunks what the answer is." "Alvin." Dave said. 'It's alright, Dave. I've learned to ignore Alvin's, how shall I say, indiscretions. It's like water off of a duck's back to me. It means nothing to me anymore." Dave nodded, but thought 'You can say that all you want, Simon, but I know better.' "Now, then, you wanted to know the total for all the dolls that were sold, right, Alvin?" "I just said that." "Alright. Let's see. Each dolls is six dollars. Six times thirty equal one hundred and eighty. So, the total amount earned from the sale of the dolls alone is one hundred and eighty dollars. Of course, that's just a low scale estimate, because we don't know exactly how many people went and bought dolls." "Still, though, that's not bad. Ah, imagine the looks on the faces of the kids that are going to get those dolls. Priceless." Brittany said. "Hey, do you guys think that there's enough dolls left to send to the needy kids?" Jeanette said. 'Already been taken care of, Jeanette." Dave said. 'You mean?" "Yup. They're on there way to as many unfortunate kids as possible right now." "That's great! When did you set that up, Dave?" "A little after you all went on stage and I saw some people go and get them. That inspired that idea. So, I passed it on to some of the supervisors of the concert, and they thought it was a great idea. And, it went from there." "Oh, that's so great. But you know, if you hadn't of thought of that, I would've been willing to stay up late tonight, even into the early morning hours, in order to deliver those dolls, if that's what it took." Dave cocked an eye brow. "Jeanette, come here a minute." "Um, okay." Jeanette walked over to Dave. Dave knelt down, stuck out his hand and Jeanette climbed on. Then, Dave brought Jeanette up to his level. He then began to look her over. "What are you doing, Dave?" Jeanette asked. 'I'm getting a good look at you." "Why? Is there something wrong with me?" "No. I'm just trying to figure out how you fit a heart as big as yours into a body as small as yours." "Oh!" Jeanette said. She then giggle and smiled. "My sister, ladies and gentlemen. A future recipient of the Nobel peace prize, no doubt." Brittany said. "Oh, stop it, Brittany." Jeanette said. Dave set Jeanette down on the floor. "Okay, so, is everyone ready to go home?" "Sure." Most of the chipmunks said. Alvin remained silent. "Alvin?" "Huh? What is it, Dave?" "I asked everyone if they're ready to go home, and you didn't answer. So, are you ready, or are you 'not tired' yet?" "I'm definitely not tired. Anybody know where I can find a skateboard?" "Alvin!" "What?" Dave pointed to the brace on his wrist. It had been severely injured when he tripped over a skateboard Alvin had left out a few weeks ago. 'Oh, right. That. Um, okay, forget the skateboard. Um, who wants ice cream?" "Ooo! I do, I do!' Theodore shouted. 'Me too!' Eleanor said. "Some ice cream would be nice right now." Simon said. "Can we get some ice cream on the way home, Dave?" Theodore asked. "Well, I guess, you earned. Alright, let's go get that ice cream and head home." "Alright!" All the chipmunks shouted. Later, at the ice cream shop. "Oh, I just love banana flavored ice cream.' Eleanor said. "You're the only one I know who does." Alvin, who was sitting right next to Eleanor, said. "You should try it, Alvin. Here." Eleanor said, pushing her ice cream cone towards Alvin. "Uh, Ellie?" "What? Oh, right. The germs. Um.." Eleanor noticed that Dave was eating his ice cream out of a cup, with a spoon. 'Hey, Dave?" "Yes, Eleanor?" "Do you have another spoon I can use?" "A spoon? But, you have a cone, Eleanor." "Please?" "Oh, alright. Let's see. Oh. Well, would you look at that. I did pick up an extra spoon by accident after all. Here you go." Eleanor took the spoon and scraped some ice cream off of the side of her cone that she hadn't licked yet. "Here, Alvin. Try this." "Well, if you insist." Alvin tasted a little of the offered ice cream. "Hey, that's not bad. Not as good as strawberry, but still pretty good." "I thought you'd like it. I think every one should try it!" Eleanor waved the spoon in the air as she shouted. The spoon hit Jeanette and Simon, who were sitting behind Eleanor, and knocked them over the nearby edge of the table they were sitting on. "Simon! Jeanette!" Everyone rushed to the fallen chipmunks aide. "Oh, I'm so sorry, guys. Are you alright?" "My head hurts, but otherwise, I'm fine." Simon said. 'Same here." Jeanette said. "You must've hit your heads when you landed. Does it hurt really bad? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" "Don't you mean the vet?" Simon asked. "Whatever it takes." Simon looked to Jeanette. 'Do you feel like you need to go to the hospital, Jeanette?" "No. it hurts, but it's not that bad." "Yeah, same here. We'll be alright, Dave." "Okay. Well, I think we should head home, before anything else happens." the chipmunks nodded. Later that night, Jeanette and Simon had difficulty sleeping. They were both having bad dreams and were tossing and turning. Eventually, the dreams hit their climaxes and that shocked the young munks into the waking world. The both woke with a shout. These shouts woke everyone up. Dave came running into the munks room. 'What's wrong?" He asked. 'Jeanette and Simon woke up screaming." Theodore said. "What's wrong guys?" "Oh, Dave, I had a horrible nightmare." Jeanette said. "Me too." Simon said. "What happened?" The you chipmunks told everyone about their dreams. Jeanette told of how she saw not three, but four chipettes in her dream, and how she saw the fourth one taken from them be an unseen force. Simon told how he had seen four chipmunks, but the fourth one was washed into a raging river by the storm that was going on in his dream. "And thing is, it felt so real." Simon said. "Same here. Thinking about it actually makes me sad." No one knew what to say. Meanwhile, in a house twenty miles away, a young Japanese man was chasing a chipmunk, dressed in a black, zip-up, hoodie, through the house. "Get back here, you furry little freak!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

" I said get back here!" The Japanese man yelled. "Yeah, sure. Just as soon as I develop a death wish!" The black clad chipmunk yelled back. The man chased the chipmunk down a hallway and into a back room. "Grandpa's study. No where run now!" The man cackled. "Yeah, no where to run, but…" The young chipmunk glanced up. On a shelf, hanging from the wall behind the man, was a large trophy. The sight of this trophy hatched a plan in the young munk's brain. "But who says I need to run? I could take you out with one hand tied behind my back!" "Why you little!" The young man tried to stomp on the chipmunks tail. The chipmunk dodged the attack. 'One!" He shouted. The man tired again. The chipmunk dodged the attack again. 'Two!" The young man tried twice more. "Three! Four! Miss a chipmunk on the floor!" The young chipmunk shouted as he dodged the attacks. "Stand still!" The man shouted as he raised his foot again. The chipmunk then began to run around the man. The man spun around, trying to get a fix on the chipmunk. The man spun around and around, until he became very dizzy. At this point, the chipmunk quickly climbed up to the shelf and placed himself behind the trophy. He then began to push the trophy forward. "Five, six, seven, eight! Now I give you a head ache!" The chipmunk shouted as he pushed the trophy off the shelf and onto the man's head. The man immediately grabbed his head and cried out in pain. "AGH! I'm gonna kill you!" The man shouted as he tried to grab the chipmunk from off the shelf. "Ken!" The man heard an elderly voice yell. This mad him stop and look. In the doorway stood an elderly Japanese man. "Grandfather!" The young man quickly bowed to show respect to his grandfather. "Father!" The chipmunk cried as he bowed. The young man was visibly angered by the chipmunk referring to his grandfather as his father. "He's not your!" "Calm yourself, Ken!" The elderly Japanese man said. The man stopped and nodded to his grandfather. "And Cash." The elderly man said to the chipmunk. "Yes?" The chipmunk asked. "Didn't I tell you that you could call me by my name?" "Oh, right. You did. Sorry, Agito." The elderly man nodded. "There, Ken. Is that better? He's calling me by my name, instead of calling me father. Does that suit you?" "No! The only thing that will suit me is this little freak is kicked out of here." "This place is Cash's home, Ken." "Yeah, and if you don't like it, you can always leave, Ken." The three heard a female voice say. The looked to see a pretty, young Japanese woman standing in the doorway behind Agito. She looked to be about the same age as Ken. "Stay out of this, Kimiko." Ken said. "Why? I live here too, so I should have a say in this." "Now, don't you two start. We've already had enough fighting in this house for one day. So, knock it off." "Yes, Grandfather." Ken said. "Whatever you say, Grandpa." Kimiko said. Agito nodded. He then turned to Cash and Ken. "Now then. How did this fight get started?" "He bit my hand! See?" Ken shouted, holding up his right hand, which had a large bite mark on it. "Why did you bite Ken, Cash?" "Cause he was trying to feed me to that crazy cat that lives next door. He was holding me by the tail, over the fence and was calling for the cat. He even said 'Come here, kitty. I got a nice little snack for you.' " "Ken!" Kimiko shouted angrily. "I know you don't like Cash, but, trying to feed him to the neighbor's cat? What's wrong with you?" "I was trying to get rid of this freak. I Why does no one else but me see what he is? He's a freak! Chipmunk aren't supposed to be able to talk and yet he can! He's not supposed to exist! He's a mistake of nature, but no one will admit it but me. So, it's up to me to take care of that mistake. I have to…" "That's enough, Ken.' Agito said. "I will not stand here and listen to you calling Cash a mistake." "Yeah, me either. Everything has a right to exist, Ken. Whether we like it or not, everything that lives has a right to exist. You know, I think, no, I know that you really only say those things about Cash because you have a phobia of rodents, which Cash just so happens to be one of. But, he can't help that. He was born that way and we can't help how we're born. If we could, I would've fixed it so that I'd grow up to be taller than I am now. But, we can't do that and so we're stuck as we are. So that means that Cash can't stop being a chipmunk, no matter how much you don't like it. But, you know, he really should be the rodent you can accept. After all, he's so much a human being. In fact, a lot of times, he seems to be more human than some people I know. So, since he's so human like, that should make it easier for you to accept him. But, if that's not enough, then there's one more thing to remember. Cash is our uncle. He's family." "Ah! Don't say that, Kimiko! He's an animal. You should be calling him your pet, not your uncle." "Whatever. All I know is that Cash is a great member of the family. The day we found him on bank of that river was sad, but once we nursed him back to health, and then later found out he could talk and act like a person, which in turn made Grandpa decide to make him a member of the family, was one of the best days this family has ever had." "Says you." "Says the person who's right and not letting some stupid phobia cloud her mind." "I kind of have to agree with Kimiko on this one, Ken." Agito said. 'Grandfather! You can't be serious!" "I am. Ken, as you well know, this family has suffered much over the years. We lost my dear Fuuka, your grandmother, just before Cash came along. It left a hole in the family, as you'll recall. But then, we brought Cash into the family. Now, I knew he could never take Fuuka's place, but I thought, perhaps having him around would some how make everyone feel better. At least, I thought he could serve as a distraction from the pain everyone was feeling. After all, how often do you see a talking chipmunk? But, Cash became more than that. He did all he could to make everyone like him, and eventually, they all came to care about him as one of their own. And in time, he became like a son to me. I saw it as a blessing. I had lost my wife, but I had gained one more son. One more opportunity to play the role of father and help and child grow up smart and strong. One more chance to do some good in the world, before I eventually pass on." "Oh, come on, now, Agito. Don't talk like that." Cash said. "I'm sorry, Cash. I know that kind of talk upsets you, but, I just can't live forever. Eventually, I will go on to be Fuuka. But before that, I want you to be as strong as you can be. That's all I have ever wanted for each of my sons. And Grandsons too." Agito said, looking back at Ken. "That's why I train the both of you. Because, two warriors, of similar styles, are much stronger than just one. I want you two to be able to help each other in the times of trouble that I'm sure will come after I'm gone. That's why I want you to try to get along with Cash, Ken. Please, try to see him as everyone else does. As a member of the Ikebana family." "Never." "What?" "I'm sorry, Grandfather. But, I can't honor that request. Because I could never see a rat as a member of the family. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should get in some training before bed. Excuse me." Ken then left the room. 'After all that, your just gonna let him go, Grandpa?" Kimiko asked. "Punishing Ken only makes him madder at Cash. And I want as little 'heat', as it were, to be on Cash." "Thanks, Agito." Cash said. "Okay, I get it. Keep Cash as safe as possible, by not punishing Ken. I get it. 'sigh' Do you think he'll ever grow out of his phobia?" "I don't know, Kimiko. I just don't know. 'sigh' Anyways, it's late. You two should get to bed." "Right. Come on Cash." "Right. Good night, Agito." "Good night, Cash. Good night, Kimiko." "Good night, Grandpa. Alright, let's go, Cash." "Okay." Kimiko and Cash started to leave the room when a thought dawned on Agito. 'Cash, wait." "What is it, Agito?" "I just remembered. There's something I've been working on for you for the past while. I'll be putting the finishing touches on it tonight. You'll get it tomorrow. Just thought I should let you know." "Cool, thanks, Agito." "Having something to look forward to like that should give you some good dreams tonight, huh, Cash?" "Yeah." " 'yawn' Alright, now really time for us to hit the hay." "Yeah." Agito watched the two leave the room. He over heard Kimiko talking to Cash in the hallway. "Hey, Cash. I just remembered something else you can look forward to." "What's that?" "Ken's annual summer stay here ends the day after tomorrow. After that, he'll go back to live with his folks. He'll be out of your hair in just two days." "Yeah, but doesn't your annual stay end the day after Ken's does? That's no fun for me." "Actually, I'm leaving the same day as Ken this time." "Why?" "Duh. I'm getting married in a few days, remember? I have to head home to finish the preparations." "Oh, yeah, I remember you telling us about that the first day you were here. By the way, when do I get to meet this guy?" "Trying to act like that uncle you are to me now?" "Well, I gotta try sometime. So, when do I get to meet him?" "Soon enough, uncle Cash. Soon enough." "By soon enough, I hope you don't mean the day of the wedding." "Don't worry. I'll get him up here to see you. And then, you can tell me what you think of him." "Well, it won't really matter what I think. So long as he makes you happy, Kimiko, I'm happy. I just wanted to meet this guy cause you made him sound so great. I just want to see what all the fuss is about in person." "Admit it uncle Cash, you wanna see if he's good enough for me. Just like a caring uncle would." "Well, maybe a little. But, like I said, in the end, so long as he makes you happy, I'm happy. Oh, by the way, I gotta know. If you've got preparations for your wedding to make, why'd you make the trip this year?" 'I could never miss this trip. I love being with you and Grandpa like this every year, even if it means I have to put up with Ken's garbage." "Well, maybe he'll mellow out between now and next year's trip. At least enough to leave me alone." "We can only hope." Agito sighed upon hearing this. "Ken, what am I going to do with you?" he wondered. However, Agito could not think any farther than that, for he was suddenly hit but massive coughing fit. Agito coughed and coughed for a roughly a minute before he finally stopped. He walked over to his desk, took out the inhaler he kept in the main drawer, and took a few puffs from it to help his breathing get back to normal. "Oh. 'sigh' those fits are getting worse. I'm starting to think that maybe there's something worse wrong with me than just asthma. I should go see the doctor and have him check me over again. But, before that.." Agito opened a drawer on the side of the desk and pulled out a small box. He opened the box to reveal a small samurai sword. "This is the smallest sword I've ever made. But, then again, it's just the right size for Cash. 'sigh' I just hope he never has to use this on Ken. But, with Ken the way he is, I just don't know if Cash will ever have the choice."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

_The next day, Cash woke up in a hurry. He was very excited about what Agito had told him about last night. He had no idea what he kind of gift he'd be getting today, but he figured that it would be good. However, in the back of his head, there was something nagging at him. Last night, he had once again had this one particular dream. He had this dream many times over the years. It always seemed real, like it had actually happened. In the dream, he would always see himself as a baby, along side three other chipmunks. Suddenly, a large storm would kick up and he would end up being washed into the flooded river that was in dream, and then washed away. He had talked to Agito about this dream before. Agito promised Cash that he would look into it for him, and that he shouldn't worry himself bout what the dream meant. But, in the back of his mind, Cash couldn't help but think about the dream every time he had it. He knew the story of how he had come to be a part of the Ikebana family very well. He put two and two together and thought that dream had something to do with his 'origin story'. When Cash told Agito about this, Agito theorized that, perhaps, the other three chipmunks that Cash had seen were representative of something. However, Kimiko, who Cash had also talked to about that dream that day, said that maybe the dream was actually a memory and the other munks were relatives of some sort. Cash didn't know who was right, so Cash asked Agito to check and see if he could some how find anything about his chipmunk family. Agito promised that he would. "Well, time to go get breakfast." Cash said to himself. He changed into one of his many black hoodies and headed for the kitchen. Kimiko had made all of these hoodies for him, and she had made a lot of them. Thus, Cash wore one of them everyday. Cash walked into the kitchen. Kimiko was the only one there. She was sitting at the breakfast table, eating her breakfast. "Good morning, Kimiko." Cash said. "Oh, good morning, Cash. Want some breakfast?" "Of course." "Alright then. You like the toaster waffles, right?" "Like them? I love them! And some, so, could you…" "Make you some? Of course. I'll get right on it." Kimiko got up and got the waffles out of the freezer. She popped a few in the toaster and waited for them to finish cooking. Cash, meanwhile, climbed up onto the table. "Thanks, Kimiko. I'd do it myself but…" 'I know. You can't get into the freezer that easily." "Oh, I can get the door open. It's the not falling off the top of the freezer that I have trouble with." "Because you have to lean so far out to open the door, that you can't keep your balance. Yeah, I remember. Didn't you actually fall off once?" "Yeah. Nearly broke my leg in the process." "Well, we definitely don't want that. So, don't worry. I'm happy to do it. I like to cook anyway, even if it's just putting so waffle in the toaster." Cash nodded. "Hey, where's everyone else?" "Well, Grandpa's outside, taking his morning walk, and Ken, well, I have no idea. He got up, came and breakfast really quickly and took off. Hard telling where he is. If I had to guess, though, I'd guess that he's gone off some place in the woods out back in order to train. That's what he comes here every year for. To get his fill of training for the year, cause he can't do it at home. So, he's probably out training somewhere." "Yeah, that sounds about right. He's probably hacking away at some tree with that sword Agito made for him all those years ago." "Yeah. Hey, speaking of Grandpa making things, what do you think he's got for you?" "Your guess is as good as mine, Kimiko." "Hey, maybe it's a sword." "A sword? You really think so?" "Well, think about it, Cash. Grandpa's made a sword for everyone he's trained before you. My dad, Ken's dad, Ken himself. It's about time you got one, don't you think?" "Well, yeah, I guess." Kimiko started to laugh. "What's so funny?" "Oh, I was just picturing you with a sword. With a sword in your hand, and your black clothes, you'd like a ninja." Cash immediately flipped the hood on his hoodie up. He then bowed his head, so Kimiko couldn't see his face. "What would you have your ninja-munk do, my mistress?" Cash joked. Kimiko laughed. "Oh, man, that was funny. And, kinda cool at the same time. I'll bet you'd look really cool with a sword." "Well, let's hope that Agito really does have a sword for me, so we can see how cool I'd look." Kimiko nodded. "Oh, hey, by the way. I talked my fiancé, Rai, on the phone this morning. I got him to agree to come here tomorrow, so you everyone can meet him before Ken and I leave tomorrow." "Oh, cool. Rai, huh? That's Japanese for lightning, if I'm not mistaken." "Your not. Isn't that cool name?" "Yeah. Cooler than mine." "Oh, come on. Cassius is a great name. Plus, Grandpa named you after Mohammed Ali. Cassius was his original name, you know." "Yeah, I know. And I know why Agito named me that. He said he named me that because he liked boxing and he highly respected Ali for his strength, and hoped that by naming me after him, maybe I'd grow up to be kinda like him." "And I think you have. I mean, I don't know any other talking chipmunks, but, I'm sure that your the toughest one of them all. I can tell you're the strongest just by looking at you." "Just by looking at me?" "Yeah. You just have that kind of look about you." Cash thought about this for a moment. However, he stopped when he heard the toaster's alarm go off. Kimiko plucked the hot waffles from the toaster and put them on a plate. "Ow, hot. Here you go, Cash. Do you want maple syrup on these?" "Yes, please." Kimiko got the maple syrup bottle out of the cabinet, poured some onto Cash's waffles, then grabbed a fork from the fork and knife drawer and then brought everything to Cash. "Here you go." "Thanks, Kimiko." Kimiko smiled. Then, something caught her eye and she looked up and out a nearby window. "Hey, you'd better eat fast. Cause Grandpa just got back." "What?" "Just eat. I'm gonna go talk to him." "Okay." Cash ate quickly and then joined his surrogate father and niece. "Agito!" "Oh, good morning, Cash. Did you sleep well?" "Fine. But, I had that dream again. The one with the other chipmunks in it." "I'm telling you, Grandpa. I really think that this dream is some sort of memory of Cash's that he's reliving in his sleep. I mean, why else would he have that dream so many times? I've heard of people having the same dream a few times, but not as many times as Cash has had this dream. So, I really think that it's a memory." "I think you may be right, Kimiko." "Come again, Grandpa?" "I said that I think that you may be right. Especially after I saw this." Agito pulled a rolled up magazine out of his pocket. He unrolled it to reveal a picture of the chipmunks and chipettes on the cover. " I stopped by the convenience store on the way home from my walk. I saw this in the magazine rack. Now, look at the one in red, um…" "Alvin?" Kimiko said. "That's it. Look at him and then look at Cash." Kimiko did as told. "Whoa, I see what your getting at, Grandpa. They could almost pass for twins." "That's what I thought. Cash, I believe that, if what Kimiko says is true, I believe that Alvin and the chipmunks are those other chipmunks you see in your dream. I believe that they may be your long lost brothers." "That would explain why Cash is such a good singer." Kimiko said. "I might be related to these guys…cool!" "I'd like to test this idea a little more. I'm going to see if we can get a hold of them and then do whatever we need to do prove whether or not you're related." "Cool! Thanks, Agito." Agito nodded. "Now then, I think it's high time I gave you your gift. Give me a minute." Agito got up and headed into the house. He returned moments later, holding a small box. Agito set the box down on the floor next to Cash. "Here you go, Cash." Cash opened the box and his pupils immediately grew huge. Cash inside the box was his sword, which Agito had custom made for him. "This…is…awesome!" Cash yelled. He then pulled the sword out of the box and held it high above his head. "Hold that pose, Cash!" Kimiko yelled. Kimiko ran into the house and retrieved her digital camera. She quickly took a picture of Cash with his sword. She then turned the camera around, in order to show Cash the picture on the screen on the back of the camera. "Whoa! I look awesome!" "Like some kind of furry, little hero." Kimiko said. Agito smiled and said "There's a sheathe in the box too, Cash." Cash pulled the sheathe out of the box and sheathed his sword. He then used the string that hung from the side of the sheathe to hang the sword from his back. "Okay, let me get a picture of that too." Kimiko took another picture. She stared at the picture on the back screen. "You did a really good job, Grandpa. Cash looks like some kind of hero in every shot I take." "I just made it the exact same way I did all the swords I've made before it, only in a smaller scale. Now then, Cash. I hope you understand the responsibility that owning that blade carries with it. You must only use it when you have to. To defend yourself or others. Don't go around town waving it around. You could get yourself in trouble that way." "Don't worry, Agito. I promise I handle this responsibly. And, I promise that I'll all my training, along with this sword, to protect everyone I care about." "That's what I wanted to hear." Cash and Agito then bowed to each, as a sign of respect between teacher and student. Between father and son. "Man, I'm so glad I got to see this." Kimiko said. "What's all the noise about?" The three heard a voice say. They looked up to see Ken coming out of the woods. "Ken! Grandpa just gave Cash his own sword!" Kimiko yelled. "What?" "Show him, Cash." Cash nodded and unsheathed his sword to show Ken. "You made that, Grandfather?" "Yes, Ken, I did. And, I don't want you to get upset about it either. You know I do this for everyone I train. I did the same for you years ago. It's only fair that I do the same for Cash." "But, he's.." "He is my son, and my student. Nothing else." "But!" "I don't want to hear it, Ken." "Yeah, me either. This is a happy occasion, Ken. We don't need your illogical fear to ruin it. So, if you can't be happy for Cash, then go to your or something for a while and let us enjoy this." Kimiko said. Ken gritted his teeth and walked towards the house. When he reached Cash, he stopped and said 'You don't deserve that, you little rat, and you know it." "I earned it, Ken." "You didn't earn anything. A rat can never be a swordsman. So they should never touch a blade." "I'm not a rat, I'm a chipmunk. And, I'm a swordsman." "Well, if you wanna be a swordsman so badly, why don't we see what your made of? Come on, let's go. You versus me." "Fine by me. I'm gonna shut you up once and for all." Ken made a move towards Cash, but Agito stepped in between them. 'Enough! I will not let my family fight like this. 'sigh' Ken, since you can't enjoy this like the rest of us, I want you to go to your room." " 'grrr' Fine!" Ken stormed off. " 'sigh' Okay, now that that's taken care of, I'd say it's time for a celebration." "Yeah, let's party." Kimiko said. "Man, this gonna be a great day. Nobody can be having a better day than me." Meanwhile, another twenty miles away, a young chipmunk girl, dressed in a white shirt, with a black vest on top, and a white skirt was asking her surrogate mother what they were doing today. "Well, Katrina, I'll tell you. We're going to have a great day today."_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Oh, really? Well, what exactly are we going to be doing, mother dear?" The young chipmunk asked her mother, who was an elderly Chinese-American woman named Macy Choy. "Well, Katie, dear. First, we're going to go out into the garden and pick some leaves off of the aloe plant growing out there, and then we're going to take them to Mrs. Johnson down the street." "Okay, why?" "Because, she knows I have an aloe plant, thanks to her many visits here, and she needs some. So, she called me and I told her that, since you and I are going out today anyway, I told her we'd bring her some." "Okay, but why does she need it?" "Because both her son and her daughter got nasty sunburns from where they went to beach with their uncle, her brother, yesterday." "Oh, yeah. It was extremely hot yesterday. And I guess said uncle forgot to have them put any sun screen on?" "Yup." "Oooo. So that means that they under the full force of the California sun, with no protection. Man, those have got to be nasty sunburns." "According to Mrs. Johnson, they are." "Well, what are we standing around for? Let's get going." "Right. Let's go get that Aloe." Katrina and Macy quickly acquired the required leaves, then locked up their house and headed out. Katrina carried the leaves under her left arm and hummed as they walked towards Mrs. Johnson's house. Macy took notice of her surrogate daughter's humming. "That sounds like a pretty song your humming, Kate. Why don't you sing some of it for me?" "Because it's a song that I only heard once on the radio the other day, and I don't remember all the words. I can remember the beat, but not the words." "Well, who sang it? The DJ usually tells all the listeners who sings the song that's coming on., so did you hear him or her say who the singer was?" "Yeah." "And who was it?" "The Chipettes." "You mean that all girl chipmunk band that teams up with the chipmunks a lot?" 'That's the one." "I see. And what was the name of the song?" "Um, what was it….uh…Oh, yeah! It was called Diamond Dolls." "Interesting title." "Yeah." "Well, Katrina, how many of the words to Diamond dolls do you remember?" "I remember the chorus perfectly." "Well, that's enough. sing that for me." "Are you sure, Macy? I mean, I haven't gotten the chance to practice it." "Sure, I'm sure. Katrina, whether you have the song perfected or not, you still have a beautiful singing voice, and I want to hear it. Come on, do your mom a favor and sing." "Well, okay. But only cause it's you, Macy. Ahem. 'We're the ones on the run. We're the girls, we're the diamond dolls. It's a ravenous world and the ceiling is very tall. There's a weight and a climb, and a ladder and many fall. Diamond dolls. But the cream of crop, never stops! We're the diamond dolls!'" Macy clapped her hands wildly. "That was excellent, Katrina!" "Really?" "yes, really. In fact, I think it was so good that I think we should call up the Chipettes and tell them to watch out for you." "Aw, Macy, your just saying that cause you're my mom." "No, I'm not. That was very good, Katrina. You're an amazing singer. Your only issue is your confidence issue. Your afraid to sing because your afraid that you'll mess up, right?" "Yeah." Katrina said sadly. "Well, that's silly. I mean, do you think that the Chipettes always get it the first time they try a song? I'd say that they probably don't. So, how do they get song down pat? They practice it. And that's where your problem lies. You don't take time to practice. And I'm sure that the Chipettes do. Look, I know you love to sing, and you like to make other people happy. So I know singing in public is the way to go for you. You just need to take time to practice a few songs. That way, you'll know them inside and out, and you won't have any confidence problems and you'll be able to sing your heart out. So, what I want you to do is find some songs that you really like and practice them.. Practice them a lot. And then, when you think your ready, I want you to sing for me, and maybe a few of our friends. Promise me you'll do that, Katrina." "Well, okay. I promise." "Good." Macy looked up. "Okay, we're here. Let's hurry and give those poor kids the relief they need." "Right!" The mother and daughter duo walked up to the door and Macy rang the doorbell. Mrs. Johnson quickly answered the door. "Ah, Macy. Thank God you're here. Where's the aloe?" Macy pointed down to Katrina. Mrs. Johnson looked down. Katrina held the aloe leaves above her head and said 'Choy family medicinal deliveries service. Here's your order of Aloe, ma'am." Macy and Mrs. Johnson both laughed at this. "Well, thank you for getting here so quickly. I'm sure my kids will appreciate the relief they're going to get from these leaves." Katrina nodded. "I can take them to them for you. I kinda wanna step in and say hi anyway." "Well, go right ahead. I'm sure they'll appreciate the visit. They're in the den, just over there." Mrs. Johnson said, pointing out the direction of the den. Katrina nodded and headed inside with the aloe. "She's really grown up, hasn't she? I mean, I remember when she was really timid. She used to hide behind your leg when other people came around, and she wouldn't talk to anyone but you. Now, she's really outgoing." "Well, she is a teenager, and teens are, for the most part, outgoing by nature.." Macy replied. "She's a teenager?" "Well, I don't know exactly when her birthday is. But, we always celebrate her birthday on the anniversary of the day she came into my life. And, it's about fifteen years since then. She's had fifteen 'birthdays' since she came to live with me." "Right, and I remember you telling that, when she came into your life, she looked like a newborn. So, you've raised her pretty much all her life. So, if she's been with you for fifteen years, I guess she is fifteen. Hmm.." "What is it?" "Well, I don't want to bother you with this but, do you realize that Katrina's already outlived the lifespan for normal chipmunks." "She has?" "Mm-hmm. According to daughter, whose big on learning everything she can about animals, normal chipmunks only live for about eight years. And Katrina's fifteen. So, she's out lived all the normal chipmunks that were born at the same time she was by seven years." "Well, Katrina isn't a normal chipmunk And, if that fact has something to do with her lifespan being much longer than normal chipmunks, then I thank God for it." "I would too, Macy. I would too." Meanwhile, Katrina was chatting with the Johnson kids, Lucy and Bobby in the den. 'So, is that aloe helping?" She asked the kids. "Yeah! It feels great." Lucy said. " I'm glad. But, next time guys, put some sun screen on. People make that stuff to keep things like this from happening." "Okay, Katrina, we will." Bobby said. Katrina nodded. "Hey, Katrina?" Lucy asked. 'Hmm?" "Can I ask you something?" "Sure." "Do you remember anything about your life before you came to live with Miss Macy? I mean, I've overheard Miss Macy telling my mom what she thought happened to you. She said that she thought that you were snatched up by a hungry bird, and carried off to it's nest. But, along the way, the bird lost it's grip and you fell. And you landed in Miss Macy's lap. And from there, miss Macy decided to take care of you, since she figured she couldn't mom or your chipmunk family. And the she later found that you could talk. And then one thing lead to another, and now, here you are, as her adopted daughter." "That's right." Katrina said. 'Well, I wanna know if you remember anything from the time before bird snatched you up?" "Well, kind of yes and no." "Huh?' "Well, you see, I wasn't very old when all that happened. But, I was old enough to have my eyes opened a little bit…uh, it takes some time for baby chipmunk eyes to open after they're born." The kids nodded in understanding. "Well, I was old enough for that. And, because my eyes were open, I could see things around me. And, I remember bits and pieces of the things I saw back then." "Well, what do you remember?" "Well, the memories are so old and faded that they feel almost like dreams, more than they do memories. But, I do remember that I wasn't the baby chipmunk in whatever place I was in before that bird picked me up." "There were others?' "Yeah. Three of them, I think." "Do you remember what they looked like?" Bobby asked. Katrina shook her head no. "I don't remember what they looked like, unfortunately." "Well, do you at lest remember whether they were boys or girls?" "Yeah, I do remember that. Just barely though." "Well, which was it?" Lucy asked. "They looked like girls." "Hmm, well then, if they were in the same place that you were before that bird got you, then they're probably your sisters or something like that." Bobby said. "Hey! Maybe she's related to the Chipettes!" Lucy yelled. "What makes you say that, sis?" Bobby asked. "Well, talking about three girl chipmunks made me remember this magazine mom got me at the store." Lucy held up the magazine, which had been laying on a coffee table next to her until now. "She saw that it had the chipmunks and chipettes on the cover, and she knows how much I like them both, so she got it for me. Anyways, I remembered the picture on the cover, and what the Chipettes looked like. Here, Katrina. Take a look. I think you look a little like Brittany, the one in pink." Katrina took a look at the magazine cover. She looked closely at the chipettes, particularly Brittany. "Hey, I do see some resemblance between me and them. Maybe they are my long lost sisters." "How cool would it be if you could find out that that's the truth?" "Very!" "Katrina!" Katrina heard Macy yelled. "I'm in here, Macy!" "Well, say goodbye to the kids. We've gotta get going. I've still got a lot of other places planned for us to go today." "Okay, but, could you come here for a minute?" "Why?" "Just come in here, please." A moment later, Macy and Mrs. Johnson walked into the room. "What is it, Katrina?" "Well, the kids and I were talking, and we got onto the topic of my life before I came to live with you." "Right." "Well, one thing lead to another, and the kids got it into their heads that those other girl chipmunks I told you I remember were my long sisters." "Hmm, well, to be honest I've always thought the same thing. I just never brought it up because you never did." "Well, maybe now's the time. See, Lucy remembered this magazine her mom got her. It's got the chipettes on the cover. She thinks they might be my sisters, because I kind of look like Brittany. Here, look." Macy and Mrs. Johnson looked closely at the chipettes. "Hey, I do see a resemblance. And not just any resemblance. I'd definitely call this one a family resemblance." Mrs. Johnson said. "So would I." Macy said. "Maybe the four of you are fraternal quadruplets." "Do you think we should try to get a hold of them Macy? " "Well, if it's important to you, then yes." "Well, I'd definitely like to know." "Then it's important, and that means we're going to do it." "Cool!" "But, let's save that for tomorrow. I've got too much planned for us to do it today." "Okay." "Alright then. Let's get going. Say goodbye to everyone." "Bye." Later, outside a local Dairy Queen, Katrina was licking a cone of ice cream. Macy had already finished the chili dog she had ordered. She was rubbing her chest. "Are you okay, Macy?" Katrina asked, noticing her mother's discomfort. 'Yes, dear. Just a little heartburn from the chili dog. Nothing to worry about." "Well, okay. If you say so."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Katrina and Macy sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Macy broke the silence. "Say, Katrina?" "Yes, Macy?" "Let me ask you something." "Okay." " If something happens to me before your old enough to take care of yourself, what's your plan for your future?" "My plan? I, I don't have one." 'I see." "What brought this up?" "Well, I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time. It's something that mother and her child have to discuss at some point or another. So, I guess, since it's nice and quiet, and we're all by ourselves here, now's as good a time as any." 'I see. But, I'd rather not talk about this." "I know, kate. But, it has to be done. Now look. I don't want to die. No one does. But, I know that it's something that can't be avoided. I'm getting up there years and my body just isn't what it used to be. It can't repair itself as easily as it used too. And, on top of that, I have that heart condition, as you well know." "Yeah." "Well, with all that stacked against me, I know that I'm not gonna live to be over a hundred. It's hard to accept, but I don't have any choice. So, if I should die before your ready to be on your own, I want you to have a plan." "Um, well, I guess I could move in with Mei-lee. She cares about me." "Yes, I know, but, Mei-lee already has a lot of problems to deal with. You know she recently lost her job and her husband got hurt at work and won't be able to go back for some time. So, Mei-lee doesn't have much money. She wouldn't be able to support you, along with herself and her husband. At least, not until she found a job. And, in this economy, who knows how long that could take?" "well, then, I got nothing." "Well, how about this? If something happens to me, I want you to try to get to your sisters. Try to get to the chipettes." "But, they don't know me. And, I don't have a way to prove that I'm their sister." "I'm sure you could find away." "Yeah, I guess I could." "Well, I know you could. So, that's what I want you to do. Go to your sisters. I don't know how everything will work out, but I'm sure that after you prove who you are, they'd take you in. And you finally come full circle, and be in a place where you belonged." "But, I belong with you." 'Yes, but originally, you belonged with them. And, while I cherish every moment I have with you, if you think about it, I've really only been borrowing you from them all this time. So, if something happens to me, with your sisters is where you'll belong once again. So, I want you to go to where you belong. So, promise me. No matter what it takes, promise me, you'll seek them out." "Macy…" "Please, Katrina." "Well, alright. I promise." "Good." After this, Katrina and Macy sat, once again, in silence for a while before heading home.

Meanwhile, Cash and Agito were sitting outside, watching the sun begin to set. "Ah, now this is nice, isn't, Cash?" Agito asked. "Yeah. It's a nice, relaxing way to end such an exciting day. It's just too bad that Kimiko's going home tomorrow." "You won't miss Ken, too?" Agito joked. "You gotta be kidding, Agito. I'd kick him out now if I could. And you know I would." "Yes, I know. 'sigh'." "Look, Agito. I know you want me and Ken to get along, and I'm willing to try, but Ken's holding everything up. What with his yearly, two week long attempts to get rid of me. You know, after nearly fifteen years, you would think that he would realize that I've got a way to get out of every situation he can come up with. Like the time he threw me in the dryer. I just rode out the drying cycle and then climbed out. Sure I was hot and sweaty, and I really needed something to drink, but I survived. And that's the way everything he's ever tried has ended. Him failing and me still alive. You'd think he'd realize that that's the way it's always gonna be." "So, your thinking he should just give up?" "Heck, yeah!" " 'sigh' I wish he would, Cash." "I'm sorry, Agito, but I don't think this thing will ever end. At least not until either I'm dead, or Ken's locked up. And I don't intend to ever let the first option happen." "Naturally, you wouldn't. No one in their right mind would. It's just unfortunate that the second option will more than likely happen one day." "I'm sorry, Agito." "No need to apologize. It's not your fault, Cash." Cash nodded. "Hmm.." Agito said. "What is it, Agito?" "Oh, thinking about Ken's likely future got me thinking about yours too. Tell me, Cash. If I should die before you reach adulthood, what do you intend to do?" "I…well, I don't know, Agito. I mean, I know your not in the best of health, what with your really bad asthma that gives you those coughing fits, but, it just never seems like your ever not gonna be there." "Every son thinks that about his father. The son always believes that his father is always going to be there. But, sooner or later, the cold reality comes, and the father is gone. Then, it's up to the son to figure out what to do on his own, since he won't have his father to consult anymore. So, even though I know you don't like talking about this, just like every son doesn't, I have to ask you again. What do you plan to do?" "I..I really don't know. I guess I could move in with Kimiko. I know she wouldn't mind. But…" "But your worried that you would become burden for Kimiko." 'Well, yeah. I mean, Kimiko's getting married soon, and knowing her, that means that, sooner or later, she's gonna have kids. And she doesn't need to be raising her 'uncle', while trying to raise her own kids." " Yes, that's true. If I should die before you reach adulthood, there would still be things that you would need to taught. And, even though Kimiko loves you, she should focus and teaching her true children, so that they grow up properly." "Yeah, she wouldn't need me taking away valuable learning time from her kids." "Yes, and the kind of things you need to know are best taught to you by your father." "Well, there would always be kimono's future husband." "Yes, but, as with Kimiko herself, he would need to be focusing on his children, not his uncle-in-law, if that's a term." "Yeah. I guess I got nothing." "Well, how about this? How about you go live with your brothers?" "But, they don't know me, Agito." "I'm sure you could a find a way to prove to them who you are. After all, your definitely smart enough to do it. You'd just need to put that intelligence." "Well, if you put it that way, I guess I could try." "Well, I want you to." "Huh?" "You see, Cash, if you really think about, you've only been, how can I put this, um, borrowed, by me and the rest of the family, from your brothers all these years. You were meant to be with them. Now, God brought you to us, and thank him for that. But, I feel like you should go back eventually. Maybe that's god's will too. I can't really say. But, I do know this. If something happens to me, you couldn't take care of this house, and you don't want to be a burden on Kimiko or any other member of the family. So, the way I see, you only have one option left. To go full circle, and go with your brothers. So, I want you to promise that, if something should happen to me, you'll go find and live with your brothers, and take on their father as your own. And you'll let him teach you whatever I have not. Promise me that." "Well, okay, Agito. I promise." 'Good."

The next day, at around noon, Agito suffered a massive coughing fit. When it ended this time, Agito collapsed. Cash was near and saw this. "Kimiko! Agito collapsed! Call 911!" "Right!" And at the same time, at Katrina's house, Macy was suffering from a large heart attack. "Just hang on, Macy! The ambulance is on it's way!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The ambulance Katrina had called on for Macy arrived soon. They loaded Macy into the back and Katrina jumped in after her. The driver hurriedly sped off to the hospital. At the hospital, Katrina was ushered off to a waiting room while the doctors rushed Macy into the urgent care center. Katrina sat alone for an hour, worried sick about Macy. Finally, A doctor came to see her, a clipboard in his hand. "You're the talking chipmunk who came in with Mrs. Choy, right?" The doctor asked. "Yes, sir. My name's Katrina. I'm Macy's daughter." The doctor flipped through the papers attached to the clip board for a moment." "Ah, yes, here you are. Katrina Choy. Mrs. Choy has you listed as next of kin." "Next of kin? But, from what I've heard, that's only for….Oh, no! Oh, please God, no!" Katrina began to cry uncontrollably. The doctor sat down in the chair next to Katrina. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Miss Choy. I want you to know, we did all we could." "How?" Katrina gasped out. The doctor didn't understand her. "What was that?" he asked. Katrina realize that the doctor couldn't understand her, so she forced back the tears and regained a little of her composure. "I said how? How did she die?" "Oh. Well, it was a combination of things. First of all, as I'm sure you already knew, Mrs. Choy had a heart condition. The one she had was called cardiac arrhythmia. Meaning, she had an abnormal heartbeat. In her case, her heart beat was too fast. Now, I see on my chart here that she was taking medications for that, but, really, what she needed was a pacemaker…oh, I see she was scheduled to receive one in a weeks. 'sigh' It just couldn't get to her soon enough." Katrina sniffed rapidly, to keep the tears from coming back, so she could listen to the doctor. "Anyways, I guessing that Mrs. Choy didn't take her medicine today, or she didn't take in time. What time did she usually take it?" "In the morning, like her doctor told her." "Did she take it today?" "No. She forgot to take it this morning. She remembered around lunch said she'd take it just before she ate. She didn't get the chance." " 'sigh' I know this probably won't make you feel better, but I've seen this before. A person forgets to take their medicine in the morning, but they remember to later, however, they don't get the chance, because something ends happening to send them to the hospital. I haven't seen very often, thankfully, but it's happened before. Your not the only one who's been affected by this." Katrina nodded in understanding, but, as the doctor had figured, she didn't feel any better. "Do you wanna hear the rest of this?" the doctor asked, obvious concern coming into his voice. Katrina nodded. "I wanna know how she died, so that…so that.' Katrina inhaled deeply, to force the tears she felt welling up back. "So that I know what to tell the family." she said finally. The doctor nodded. "Well, with this kind of arrhythmia, often times you see a build up of fatty substances, such as cholesterol. And, these can form clots in the heart. Normally, they don't get very big, and in most cases, they dissolve over time, and cause little more than perhaps some chest pain." Katrina's head snapped up and her eyes locked on the doctor's face. "I take it, by the look on your face, that Mrs. Choy had experienced some chest pain very recently." "Yeah, last night. We went to dairy queen. She got a chili dog. A little after she finished it, she started rubbing her chest. I asked her if she was okay, and she told me it was just heartburn brought on by the chili dog." "I see. Well, she probably didn't realize what was really going on. And that's very unfortunate. You see, unlike most cases, the clot we found, via x-ray, in Mrs. Choy's heart was very large. It was blocking blood flow. And that meant, and I hate to say this but, it was only a matter of time before she had a heart attack. And, unfortunately, that lead to cardiac arrest, which meant her heart stopped. Now, I promise you, we tried to restart her heart and revive her, but, everything I talked about coming together was too much for her poor old heart. Too much damage occurred. You see, we saw a number ruptured blood vessels through that x-ray I mentioned. Those were most likely caused by the combination of her arrhythmia and the heart attack And all that meant, that even if we could have revived her, she would've had to go into immediate surgery, and there would've been no guaranteeing that she would've survived that." Katrina nodded. The doctor looked at her sympathetically. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Miss Choy. Is there anything I can do for you? Anyone you want me to call?" "Yeah, there is someone." "Who?" " My cousin, Mei-lee. She's Macy's niece." The doctor flipped through his clip board again. 'Yes, here she is. She's on the next of kin list as well, just after you. Alright, we'll get a hold of her and get her up here." "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Cash, Kimiko, Ken, and Kimiko's fiancé, Rai, who had been at the house at the house in order to pick up Kimiko at the time of Agito's collapse, were still waiting for a doctor to come talk to them and tell them what had happened to Agito. Finally, a doctor came. He stopped and asked the nurse on duty in the waiting where the Ikebana family was, and she pointed them out. He then walked over to them. 'Are you the Ikebana family?" "Yes, sir. I'm Kimiko Ikebana, Agito's granddaughter. This is my cousin Ken, Agito's grandson, my fiancé Rai, and my uncle Cash, Agito's adopted son. And, yes, he's a talking chipmunk, just like Alvin and the chipmunks." The doctor nodded. "Well, I wish I could've met you all under better circumstances." "Give it to us, straight, doc." Ken said. "Is grandpa okay?" The doctor looked at the family with sympathy. Kimiko instinctively knew what this look meant and began to cry. Rai tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry. He didn't make it. He was dead when he got here." Cash's jaw dropped in shock. Ken, meanwhile, started yelling at the doctor. 'What? Are you messing with us? Cause if you are, I swear…" "Sir, I assure, I would never joke about something like this." the doctor said. 'Calm down, Ken." Rai said. "You shut up!" Rai shook his head. "Ignore him." "It's okay. I understand his reaction. It's normal. Some people start crying, others go into shock, and others get irrationally angry. Seems we've got the full set here." Rai nodded. "Do you know how died?" "Yes. We took some x-rays, and found the cause. Mr. Ikebana died from massive blood loss due to internal bleeding." 'Internal bleeding? What brought that on?" "Well, near as we can tell from the x-rays, Mr. Ikebana had a fairly large aneurism in one of his arteries leading to his stomach. I don't know right now how that came to be there, and I also don't know how it ruptured. But, it did and when it did, it ripped open the artery, causing large scale internal bleeding and that led to Mr. Ikebana's death." By this point, Kimiko had regained some composure. "You said that you don't know what caused the aneurism to burst?" She asked the doctor. "That's right." "Could Grandpa's asthma have done it?" "I don't understand, Ms. Ikebana. Could explain that one?" "Yeah. You see, Grandpa had really bad asthma. He had to have the extra strength inhalers to control it. But, even so, he would still have the occasional coughing fit. And they would be bad, really bad. And this morning, he had the worst one I'd ever seen him have. And, I know that, when someone coughs, the muscles around the stomach involuntarily contract. So, could these muscle contractions have caused the aneurism." "Well, I've never heard of that happening before, but it is highly possible. The aneurism was in an artery, leading to the stomach, however, it faced those very muscles that you mentioned. The ones that involuntarily contract during a cough. If Mr. Ikebana's fit was as severe as you made it sound, then it is very likely that all that coughing caused the muscles to pull in and press against the aneurism. And, obviously not just once, but multiple. And, that very well could've caused the aneurism to burst." "I see. So, Grandpa's asthma killed him." " 'sigh' yes, it seems that way." the doctor scanned the family. "Well, while I'm very sorry for your loss, there are still other things that need my attention. Please excuse me." The doctor then left. Rai looked at the Ikebana family. He figured that it would be best to leave the hospital. "Come on, guys. Let's go. There's nothing we can do here right now anyway." Kimiko nodded. "Right, let's go." Kimiko looked down at Cash. Cash had come out of his shock, and now sat in his seat, in stone cold silence. "Cash?" She asked. Cash looked up. "Let's go home." "What home?" "What?" "I can't go back to the house. Agito said it himself just last night. With out him or somebody else there to help me, I can't take care of that house. It's too big for me to take care of on my own. So, effectively, I have no home." "Yes you do. That house is still your home, and it's mine too. I'll stay there with you." "Until when?" "Until when? As long as it takes. But, at very least, until the funeral is over. After that, we'll figure something out." "Well, alright." Kimiko looked to Ken. 'Ken, we're heading back to the house. What are you gonna do?" "Me? Oh, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, Kimiko. I'm gonna kill this rat!" Ken said, facing Cash. "Ken!" "It's his fault! I've heard aneurisms can be caused by stress, and what's more stressful than training a new student, especially when it's a freak like him. Face it, Kimiko. The freak killed Grandpa!" Kimiko slapped Ken as hard as she could. "I don't wanna hear another word from you. Ever again. Cash did not kill Grandpa. Training him did not cause that aneurism." " How do you know that?' "Because I actually know what causes aneurisms. It's bacteria, ken. A certain type of bacteria. That's what does it." "And how do you know that Grandpa didn't get it from him?" "I just do." "Hmph. Deny it all you want, Kimiko. Do whatever makes you feel better. But, I know the truth. The freak of nature killed our Grandfather, in one way or another. And, I will get revenge!" Kimiko slapped Ken again. "How many times do I have to do that, Ken? Huh? How many times do I have to slap you before I knock that irrational fear of rodents out of your head? Huh? I can understand that your tore up inside. We all are. But, your grief is mixing with fear that shouldn't even be there in the first place. And it's making think, talk, and act crazy." "I'm not crazy. I just know the truth. The rest of you wanna ignore, but I see it. He killed Grandpa, and the only honorable thing to do is get rid of him in return." "Enough, Ken! I don't wanna hear any more from you. I want you to listen. I don't care where you go, but you can't stay with us. I want you to go away and don't come anywhere near us until the day of the funeral. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to go. Come on guys."

(two weeks later)"Are you sure about this, Cash?" Kimiko asked. "I promised Agito, Kimiko. I promised him that I'd go find my brothers. I've waited long enough to make good on that promise." "Well, okay. But, remember this. Me and Rai live in Grandpa's house now. If you ever wanna come back, just call." "Okay." "Well, You ready, Cash?" Rai asked. "Yeah." "Thanks for driving him, honey." "No problem. Well, I'll be back sometime tonight." 'Okay. Bye." Meanwhile. "Well, let's get going Kate." "Okay, Mei."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Katrina loaded into her cousin's car. Mei-lee had agreed to take Katrina to Hollywood, so that she could begin her search for her sisters. Until today, Katrina had been staying Mrs. Johnson. Bobby and Lucy were sad to see Katrina go, but they knew she had to. Mei-lee put Katrina's suitcase in the back of her car and then got into the driver's seat. "Okay, seat belts on." She said. Katrina pulled the belt across herself, and buckled it. She then pulled it as tight as she could, so as to keep herself from slipping out from under the seat belt in the event of a sudden stop. "Okay, let's hit it." Mei-lee hit the gas and the car pulled away. Katrina could see the Johnson family waving goodbye to her in the rearview mirror. She wished she could wave back, but she was already strapped in. "Okay, Kate. We're on the road, heading for Hollywood. Never been there before myself, you know." "Neither have I, but that's where my sisters are, so that's where I have to go." Mei-lee stopped the car for a moment. "You know, Kate, my house is on the way to the freeway exit that leads to Hollywood. It's not too late to change your mind about moving in with me." "I appreciate the offer, Mei, but, I made a promise to Macy. I can't go back on it. I mean, could you go back on a promise you made to your mom?" "No, no, I couldn't. It's just, I'm gonna miss you." "Well, I have your phone number. Once I get I situated in whatever place my sisters are living in, I'll call you and give you the number for that place. That way, you can call me there any time you want." "Your being a little overly optimistic, don't you think? I mean, do you really think that it'll just be so easy?" "I know it won't be easy, Mei. But, I have to try. I'll do whatever I need to, to convince them that I'm their sister." "Well, if your this determined, we might as well get on with it. Okay, here we go for real. Don't worry about a thing, cuz. I'll get you to tinsel town in no time."

Meanwhile, Cash and Rai were on the freeway. Rai glanced over to Cash. "Did Kimiko tell you that we postponed our wedding?" "Um, yeah. She told me that you decided to postpone it until sometime after Agito's funeral. Guess I'm gonna miss it." "Actually, no. Knowing Kimiko, she'd never have the wedding without you there. Trust me, she'll make sure that you'll be there. No, you see, what I meant when I asked if she'd told you that we postponed was that we've decided to postpone for a while." "No, she didn't tell me that your planning on putting it off for a long time. How long did you postpone it? And why?" "Well, we figured for about two months. As for why, well, Kimiko really wants her wedding day to be a happy occasion. Not just for herself, but for everybody. She doesn't want anyone feeling sad on our wedding day, and we figured that people would still be tore up about Mr. Ikebana's passing for a while. I mean, from what I heard, he was a great man. The kind of family member that, when he passed, it rocked the entire family. And, since Kimiko plans to have a lot of members of the Ikebana family present at the wedding, she wants to make sure that everyone is feeling their best. So, we figured that it would best to give the family a proper amount of time to grieve and have every member of the family be able to move on, before we have the wedding. And, we figured that two months would be enough." 'I see. Yeah, that sounds about right." "So, when it comes time, do you want me, or if I'm not available, somebody else, to come pick you up?" "Of course." "Alright, then. I'll make a note of that."

Both groups drove for about thirty minutes and soon reached Hollywood. Both groups then began to contemplate where the best place to begin their respective searches would be. Both young munks that going to the biggest mall in the city was a safe bet. And so, both cars headed to said mall. However, the parked on opposite sides of the mall. "Alright. Let's go check things out." mei-lee said. 'Okay. Um, I think we should split up. We can cover more mall that way." Katrina said. "Okay. I'll take the lower level and you take the upper one." "Okay. Meanwhile, Cash and rai had decided to divide their search into north and south. Cash would explore the south section of the mall and Rai would take the north. And, while the two groups looked, the chipmunks and chipettes, along with Dave, were dividing themselves up. "Okay, guys. Remember what we're here for. We're here to buy Aunt Jackie some birthday presents. Girls, why don't you check out the music stores?" Dave asked the chipettes. 'Well, okay, Dave. What kind of music does aunt Jackie like?" Brittany asked. "She likes gospel, but she's also into country. So, if you could find a cd that has a country music star singing gospel, that would be ideal for her." "Okay, got it. Come on, girls." "wait, Brittany. We don't have any money." Eleanor said. 'Yeah, and, shouldn't we have a plan to meet up somewhere later?" Jeanette asked. "Good idea, Jeanette. Um, how about the food court? That seems to accessible from any point in the mall." Dave said. "Okay, we'll meet in the food court. But, when exactly?" Jeanette asked. "How about forty minutes from now?" "Okay." "Alright then, girls. Here's the money." Dave handed Brittany a twenty dollar bill, which the chipette promptly folded until it would fit in her jacket's tiny pocket. "Hey, while the girls are looking at cds, where are we going to be, Dave?" Theodore asked. "We're going to the model shops. Aunt Jackie loves building models." "Wait, wait, wait. The girls get to go hang out in a music store, looking at cds, and we're stuck with models?" Alvin asked. "That's right, Alvin." "Um, can I change groups?" "No, Alvin. Aunt Jackie has done a lot for you and your brothers. So, you should help pick out her gift." "But, I could do that with the girls? Why can't I go with them?" "Because, while the girls listen to rock and pop music primarily, they also listen to samplings of various other kinds of music. You don't. So, they're qualified to find the cd, and your not. Besides, from what I hear, Aunt Jackie spends more time working on her models than she does listening to music. And since she's done more for you and your brothers than she has for the girls, you should be part of the group that picks out the gift she'll probably spend the most time with. Not that your gift is any less important girls. It's just that..' "We understand, Dave." Eleanor said. Dave nodded. "Okay, now that that's settled let's get going. Come on, Alvin." "Sorry, Alvin. Better luck next time." Brittany said as she and her sisters walked away. 'Man, this bites." Alvin said. ( twenty minutes later.) "Huh. They've got one of these here to? Cool. I wonder if they have anything the one back home doesn't. I'll just take a quick peek inside." Katrina said to herself as she entered a very large music store. She wandered the isles. "Quite a selection they've got here. It's a lot bigger than back home." Katrina continued to walk, not paying attention to where she was going. She ended up bumping into someone. "Oh, I 'm sorry." "It's alright." Katrina looked to see who she had bumped into. Standing before her was Brittany. Jeanette and Eleanor stood behind their sister. "Whoa. Are, are you three the chipettes?" "Yeah." Brittany said. Katrina threw her arms around Brittany. "I can't believe I found so fast. Thank you, god. Thank you for helping me find my sisters." "Sisters?" ( twenty more minutes later) "Where are the girls? They should be here." Dave said. "Well, no sense in sitting' here thirsty. I'm gonna go get something to drink." Alvin said, hopping off the table the Seville family was sitting at. Alvin walked across the floor, whistling one of his favorite songs to himself and not paying attention to where he was going. At a distance of about five feet from the table, Alvin bumped into a certain black clad chipmunk, who was searching the food court for his long lost brothers at this time. "Hey, watch where your going!" Alvin yelled. "What? You're the one who bumped into me!" Dave, Simon and Theodore were shocked when they saw who Alvin was arguing with. "Simon, do you see that?" Theodore asked. "Yeah, I see it, Theo. But, I don't believe it. He looks so much like Alvin it's scary." 'Hey, Simon!" "What, Theo?" "Your dream. Remember, The fourth one of us you saw in it? Well, I think that's him." 'But, the odds of that are astronomical, Theodore." "Look at his face, Simon." "Y-Your right. Man, this is too weird." "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go keep Alvin from beating him up." "Right. Alvin!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Alvin!" Simon called again. "What?" Alvin yelled back. " Calm down and look at who your arguing with." "He's a talking chipmunk, like us. So what? We already know that there's more than a few of us." "No, I mean really look at him. Look at his face, Alvin." "His face? Why would I wanna….holy crap. he looks like a goth version of me." "Goth? Hey, just because I wear black clothes, that doesn't mean I'm goth. I just like black. It looks good on me. But, all that's beside the point. I'm really glad I found you guys." "Why? You a fan? Or maybe you wanna be my body double?" Alvin asked. "Um, kinda on the first one, and definitely no on the second one. No, see, I'm glad I found you guys because, well because I think you're my long lost brothers." "What?" Alvin cried. "See, Simon. I told you." Theodore said. "Yeah, I know. This is so weird." "Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Cash asked. "Well, a few weeks ago, Simon suffered a nasty fall. And he bumped his head during it. On top of that, the night after that fall, he had a dream. One that seemed like it was real. In it…" "It was my dream, so I'll tell the story, Theodore." Simon said. 'Okay, go right ahead." "Right. Well, as Theodore said, I had that dream. I've come to the conclusion that it really was a memory that was long buried and that blow to the head I suffered during that fall some how jarred it lose, and then I relieved it in my sleep. Anyways, in my dream, I saw the three of us, but we weren't alone. For you see, I saw a fourth chipmunk with us. However, I saw a very large storm kick up in my dream and I saw the fourth munk get pulled into a flooded river by a small mudslide caused by the rain. He went into the river and got washed away. And when that happened, I woke up." "Holy crap!" Cash yelled. "What?" "That's what happened to me when I was little! Well, littler. That happened to me when I was a baby. I don't remember it too well, cause I was really young. But, the man who took me in and raised me as his son all these years, he pieced together that that was what had happened to me." "See, Simon? I told you. He's our brother!" "Well, there's still a possibility that this is all coincidence but…that's fading fast. Very fast. I do believe that your right, Theodore. I believe he is our long lost brother." Theodore looked up at Dave. "Do you think so too, Dave?" "Well, with all these things lining up the way they are, I'd have to say that I don't think I really have a choice to agree with you guys. What do you think, Alvin?" Alvin looked at Cash. "Well, I see the resemblance, just like you guys do., and his story does match up. But one question. You said that there was a guy who took you in and raised you all these years, right?" "Yeah." "Well, if you already have somebody to take care of you, what are you doing here? Your not here to ask us for money, are you?" "No, of course not." "Then what are you doing here? I mean, living the life of a single child, with all the attention on you, and probably getting whatever you want, that sounds pretty sweet to me. Not that I'd ever trade ya, but still. So, if you've got all that going for you, what could bring you to us?" Cash's eyes lowered. "Well, you see.." "Hey, guys!" the five heard. They looked to see Brittany and sisters heading right for them. "What's up girls?" Dave asked. "You guys are never gonna believe this. We ran into this girl chipmunk at the record store, and she said that she was our sister! We got to talking and we heard her, I guess you could call it her 'origin story', and it matched up completely with that dream Jeanette had a few weeks back!" Brittany cried. "Whoa, you too?" Alvin asked. "Huh? What do you mean, Alvin?" Alvin gestured back to Cash. "See ninja-munk here?" "Yeah." "Well, he says he's our brother, and his story lines right up with Simon's dream." "Wow! Man, this is freaky as all heck." "Tell me about it." "Um, Brittany?" Jeanette asked. "Yes, Jean?" "Don't you think we should introduce our sister?" "Oh, right. Come here and introduce yourself, sis." Katrina, who had been standing behind Jeanette, walked forward. The minute she was in front of everyone, she immediately locked eyes with Cash. Both young munks eyes went wide. Both were struck dumb by love at first sight. As they stared at each other, the song Alone, by heart could be heard being played over the loud speakers of the mall. "Till now, I always got by on my own. I never really cared until I met you. And now it chills me to the bone. How do I get you alone?" The song went. Brittany noticed her sister wasn't saying anything. "Hey, sis, you okay?" She asked. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just, um, star struck. Yeah, that's it. I was star struck. "I mean, how often do you get the chance to meet Alvin and the chipmunks like this?" Katrina said nervously. "Well, you seemed fine when you met us, and we're fairly famous." "Well, actually, Britt, if you'll recall, she did stutter a bit when she first laid eyes one us." Jeanette said. 'Oh, yeah. She did. Well, in that case, just relax, sis. The guys are cool and pretty easy to get along with." Katrina nodded. "Okay, now, introduce yourself." "Okay. Hello, everybody. My name is Katrina. It's nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you too, Katrina. I'm David Seville. You can call me Dave. You of course know my boys. Simon." "Hello." "Theodore." "Hi." "And Alvin." "Sup?" Katrina nodded. Dave looked down at Cash. "Oh, and this is…actually, we don't know his name yet. Say, what's your name?" Cash shook his head. "Huh? What? Sorry, my brain switched off for a minute there. What's going on?" "Well, we just got introduced to the girls long lost sister. Here name is Katrina. And now, we want to know your name." Dave said. "Oh. My name's Cassius. But, you can call me Cash." "Cassius? As in Cassius Clay, Mohammed Ali's name before he changed it?" Alvin asked. "Yeah, that's right. My surrogate father for all these years was very big fan of boxing and highly respected Ali and how strong he was. He wanted me to have that same kind of strength, so he named me after Ali." "Huh, cool. Hey, you never did explain what your doing here." "Oh right. Well, you see." "There you are." Cash heard a familiar voice yelled. "Katrina!" Katrina heard a voice she knew very well call. "Not again." Alvin said. Rai and Mei-lee came running up to Cash and Katrina. "I've been looking everywhere for you, Cash. I thought I'd lost you. Man, Kimiko would've killed me. But, looks like you've accomplished your mission." "Yeah. Rai, meet Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. My brothers." "Nice to meet you guys. My little sis is a big fan. Um, if it's not too much trouble, could you sign something for her?" "Sure." Simon said. Rai nodded in thanks. "And, this guy, Rai, is Dave Seville. He's the guys adopted dad." "Nice to meet you sir. Rai Makashima." Rai said, extending his hand. Dave shook it' "Nice to meet you too, Rai. Um, how do you know Cash?" "He's my uncle-in-law. Or, at least he will be." "Uncle-in-law?" Theodore asked, looking at Cash. "It's a long story. Suffice it to say that he's gonna marry the granddaughter of the man who raised me. Technically, I'm said granddaughter's uncle. So, that makes me Rai's Uncle-in-law, if that's a term." "I see. Well, congrats." "Thank you, Theodore. Now then, mind telling me who your lady friend is, Cash?" "Lady friend?" "The girl munk in white, who you've been sneaking glances at the whole time we've been talking." "W-what? I'm not sneaking anything." "Uh-huh. Whatever you say. But, for future reference, I'm a lot more observant than I look." "Duly noted." "So, what's her name?" "Allow me, Cash. Hello, sir. I'm Katrina. I'm Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor here's long lost sister. It's nice to meet you." "Same here. Huh, both groups of munks reunite with their long lost siblings, on the same day and in the same place. Gotta love unlikely coincidences." "You said it." Mei-lee said. "And you are?" "Mei-lee Cartwright. I'm Katrina's cousin. Her adopted mom was my mom's sister. Oh, and it's nice to meet everyone." Everyone else nodded. "Okay, now that everyone's been introduced, Cash can finally tell me what he's doing here. And, we might as well here your story too, Kate." "Well, alright. Cash and Katrina recited there stories and then gave their reasons for seeking out their siblings. "Wow. That was a lot ...darker, than I was expecting it to be." Alvin said. "So you see, Katrina I, according to what I heard, are both trying to accomplish the same thing. We're trying to honor our respective parent's wishes and try to become a part of this family." "Oh, please say that they can stay with us, Dave" Eleanor said. "Yeah, please. Um…they're both about the same size as the rest of us, so they won't take up too much room." Theodore said. "Well, is that what everyone wants?" Dave asked. All the chipmunks nodded. "Then it's settled. Cash, Katrina, starting today, you'll be living with us. Welcome to the Seville family." "Thank you everyone." Katrina said. "Yeah, thanks." Cash said. "Well, I guess I'd better go get your luggage then, Cash." "Yeah, same here." Mei-lee said. Later that day. "Okay, Cash, Kate. Welcome to your new home." Dave said, as he lead the munks into the house. "Wow, this is a very nice place you have here, Mr. Seville." Katrina said. "Please, call me Dave. All the other kids do. No need for you to be any different." "Okay, Dave." Dave looked around. He spotted a room in the nearby hallway. 'Ah, that'll do. Follow me guys." Cash and Katrina followed their new surrogate father into the room. "Here, this'll be your room. I'll get another bed and put it in here tomorrow. And, I'll see about getting some black and white sheets. Oh, and if you need anything, your siblings are right next door, and my room is right down the hall." "Okay. Thanks, Dave. Um, since there's only one bed, does that mean that Cash and I will have to sleep in the same bed tonight?" "Well, yeah, I guess. Unless one of you wants to sleep on the floor or something." "If sharing a bed bothers you, Kate, I can sleep on the floor." Cash said. "No, it's alright. If we're going to be sharing a room, we might as well get used to each other. Maybe sharing a bed for tonight will help.' "Well, okay." Later on, after dinner. "Okay, guys. I'm gonna go make a phone call." "To who, Dave?" Theodore asked. "A friend of mine who's a vet. I need to ask her if she perform some blood tests on all of you to prove your brother and sisterhoods. I know how we all feel, but it's probably best have it on paper. That way, no one can doubt us." "That makes sense. Go right ahead, Dave. We'll find a way to entertain ourselves." Simon said. Dave nodded and left the room. "Well, what are we gonna do? There's nothing good on TV at this time of day." Alvin said. "Well, maybe we could play a game." Simon said. "Like what?" "Oh, I know!" Brittany yelled. "What?" "I've always wanted to try this. Let's play truth or dare." "Whoa, nice thinking, Britt." "Thank you, Alvin. Well, is that cool with everyone?" Everyone else nodded. ( a few moments later) "Okay, Brittany. It's your turn." Simon said. 'Okay. Let's see. Who's a good victim? Hm, hm, hm. Oh, I got it. Katrina!" "Huh?" "truth or dare?" 'Um, I don't think I have a lot of truths to tell, so I guess I'll do a dare." "I was hoping you'd say that. Hm, now, what do I want you to do?…Oh, I know. This is perfect. Katrina, I dare you, to kiss Cash!" "What? K-k-kiss? Uh, where exactly?" "Where do you think? On the lips of course." 'Uh.." "You don't have to do it if you don't feel like it, Kate. I'm sure Brittany could come up with another dare for you." Simon said. "No. I, I'll do it." This answer surprised everyone. But, Katrina's next action surprised them even more. Katrina suddenly grabbed the sides of Cash's head and pulled him in. She then completed her dare. When she released Cash, she felt strange. She was embarrassed, but part of her also felt strangely good for some reason. Cash, meanwhile, couldn't speak. "Woohoo! Way to go Katy!" Brittany cheered. "Alright, that's enough of that. It's Cash's turn now I believe." Jeanette said. Cash didn't move. "Yo! Cash! Snap out of it, bro!' Alvin yelled. "Huh? Oh, is it my turn?" "Yup." Eleanor said, fighting back a giggle. "Okay. Um, first of all, let me just say that that was awesome." This embarrassed Katrina even more, though part of her was happy that Cash had enjoyed the kiss. "Now then, um, I got a dare in mind. But, first, I need to ask a question." "Okay, shoot." Alvin said. "Alright. This question Alvin, Simon and Theodore. I wanna know, what is wrong with you guys?" "Come again?" Simon said. "I wanna know what's wrong with you guys. I mean, I've been watching you guys all day. It's blatantly obvious that each of you wants one of the girls, and they want you back. If the level of attraction in this room was any higher, you wouldn't just be able to see it, you could smell it too. It's obvious to everyone that Alvin and Brittany want each other, Simon and Jeanette want each other, and Theodore and Eleanor want each other. And don't tell me that that's not true. I'm not blind and I wasn't born yesterday. You can't fool me. So, you three don't get a choice. I dare Alvin to kiss Brittany, Simon to kiss Jeanette, and Theodore to kiss Eleanor." the six munks were struck dumb. Nobody expected Cash to pull a stunt like this. "Can he do that? Can he dare all three of us?" Alvin said. "As far as I know, there's no rules against it. But, the rules do say that the person, or persons, who are dared must complete the dare." Katrina said, sounding like an expert. "Well, go on, guys. I kissed Cash, and he liked it. And, admittedly, I liked it too. It feels pretty for both people. So, just do it." the six munks realized that they had no choice. The three couples completed their task, but where to embarrassed to continue the game, or talk to each other for the rest of the evening. ( that night) "Cash?" 'Yeah, Kate?" "Can you sleep?" "Not really. Gonna take some time to get used to sleeping in this house." "Yeah. You know. I'm kinda scared." "Of what?" "Just this whole thing. Everything feels so alien, and it's kinda scary." "Well, don't worry. Nobody here is gonna hurt you. And, even if they all go nuts or something and try to hurt you, I'll fight them off." "You'd even fight your brothers? Just for me?" 'Well, I wouldn't want to, obviously. I'd probably hold back, so I wouldn't hurt anybody, but, yeah, I'd fight them all. Cause, your special to me." 'I'm special?" "Yeah. You're the only one here who can really understand what I'm going through. Cause, your going through roughly the same thing. What I'm feeling, your feeling. What I'm thinking, your thinking. You understand, cause you've got the same problems. You're the only one I can really talk to. So, your special. And, as a bonus, your really cute too." "I, I see. Well, your special to me too." "Well, that's good….hahaha." "What's so funny?" "Oh, I was just remembering the looks on everyone's faces when we made them kiss." "Oh, yeah. That was priceless. Um, speaking of kissing, that kiss of ours, I wasn't lying when I said that I enjoyed it. It just felt so right. Even thought, it was my first kiss, it just felt right." "Yeah, it was awesome alright." "Um, Cash?" "Yeah?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" "Nope. Bachelor baby." "Well, so you know, I'm single too. So.. Maybe we could." "You read my mind, Kate."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**The next day, Cash and Katrina woke to the smell of bacon frying. When they woke, to their surprise, they found that Cash had his arm draped over Katrina's side. Cash worried that Katrina would be embarrassed by this, but she merely raised up and then gave him a peck on the cheek and said "Morning." "Good morning, my new girlfriend." Katrina smiled and repressed a laugh when Cash said this. "Well, I guess we should get dressed and go get some breakfast." She then said. "Yeah." The two quickly changed and headed out towards the kitchen. At the door to their room, Katrina took Cash's hand. Cash looked over to Katrina, to see that she had a large grin on her face. The two walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone." Katrina said. 'Morning, guys." Cash said. Dave looked down to his newest children. "Oh, good morning, guys. Did you sleep well?" "As well as could be expected." Katrina said. "Well, it certainly seems to have been a changing experience." Dave said, pointing at the tight grip Katrina had on cash's hand. Katrina let go of Cash. "Oh, well, you see, we got to talking last night and one lead to another and.." 'It's okay, sis. I think we all have already got figured out." Brittany said. 'Yeah. Admittedly, I was expecting something like this after that kiss yesterday." Eleanor said. "Kiss? What kiss?" Dave asked. "Oh, nothing Dave." Alvin said. Dave didn't ask anymore questions. He merely rolled his eyes and went back to cooking breakfast. "Anyways, you look good together, guys." Jeanette said. "Uh, thanks, I guess." Cash said. "You know, if you six would just admit your feelings for each other, you could have what we have." Katrina said. Looks of nervous embarrassment flashed across the faces of the six young munks. "Um, we'll get back to that later. Um, so, what are we doing today, Dave?" Simon asked. "Well, I got a hold of my vet friend last night. She said a good chunk of time open this morning to do whatever we needed to have done. And that's what we're gonna do t get those tests done and then we're going back to school shopping." "Ah! You would have to say that evil word, wouldn't you, Dave?" Alvin asked. "What? School?" "Ah!" Alvin cried. "Hey, Dave?" Cash said. 'Yeah, Cash?" "Since we're on the topic of school, I thought I should let you know that, even though I was home schooled, I'm at the same academic level as a high school sophomore and I was told that, if I ever went to public school, I would start school as a sophomore. Sort of like a transfer student." "Yeah, same here." Katrina said. "So, you'd be able to go to school just like the others." "yeah, and I think we should. I mean, wouldn't it cause some jealousy to rise up if Kate and I got to hang out here all day, while everyone else went to school." "Yeah, I agree with Cash. You said it yourself yesterday, Dave. There's no need for us to be any different than the others. Fair' fair. If they have to go to school, then we should too. And besides, school would give us the opportunity to make some friends outside of the family." 'Hmm, that's very true. Alright, we'll get some stuff for you guys too. Oh, that reminds me. We have to get another bed for your room, as well as some black and white sheets." "And another pillow." Katrina added. "Right, and another pillow." "Dave?" 'Yes, Katrina?" "Am I a bother to you?" 'What? No. Why do you ask that?" "Well, you see, back home with Macy, my bed was on the left side of my bedroom. Last night was the first time I ever slept on the right side. It felt strange. I'd really like it if my bed could be on the left side, and there is no bed on the left side of the room in our room. So, the bed, and pillow and everything we'll be getting will be for me. Cash can have the bed on the right side, and all it needs is some black sheets. But, I need a whole new set up. So, I was wondering if my needs were bothersome to you." "Katrina, you're a part of this family now. I look at you the same way I do your sisters. The way I see it, what you need to be happy, is what I need to be happy. And I like to be happy. So, no, it's not bothersome. To me, it's just another way to make my life a little bit better." "Okay." "Man, she's a little worry wart, isn't she?" Dave thought. 'Okay, guys. I told my friend we'd be at her veterinary clinic as early as possible. So, hurry up and eat and let's go." "Right." The munks said. Later that morning, the Seville family arrived at the clinic. Dave walked over to the receptionist. 'Hi. We have an appointment with doctor Roberts. Name's Seville." The receptionist looked at her chart. "Ah, yes, here you are. She's expecting you. Head on back." "Okay. Come on, guys." The eight kids marched into the vet's testing room. The were greeted by a beautiful veterinarian, who seemed to be British, named Doctor Roberts. "Hello, everyone." She said. 'Hey, Cora. Thanks for agreeing to see us on such short notice." "No problem, Dave. What are friends for? Now then, what exactly do you want me to do?" "Well, Cash Katrina here, the ones in black and white, say that they're the long lost siblings to chipmunks and chipettes respectively. So, even though I know how everyone feels about all this, I figured it was to get proof of their bonds on paper. That way, no one could doubt that Cash and Katrina are who they say they are. So, in short, I want you to run some tests and make sure that Cash really is the guys' brother, and that Katrina really is the girls' sister." "Well, alright. That shouldn't take very long. Just give me a minute to get everything ready." Doctor Roberts left the room. 'Wow, I didn't know that tests like these could be performed on animals." Simon said. "That's the wonders of modern technology and medicine for you." Jeanette said. Moments later, the good doctor returned with a set of needles. "Alright, everyone. Here we are. Now then, I know they idea of needle going into you may be intimidating, but in this situation, to tell you the truth, you'll never even see it coming. And, that's because, since you have such small arms, I can't really draw blood from there safely. So, I figured that I would draw it from a much broader, safer place. And the place I came up with, was your backs. So, unless you can turn your heads all the way around, you'll never even see it." "Will it hurt?" Eleanor asked. "A little bit. But, I promise you, I'll quick about it. I'll fin a good vein, stick in the needle, draw the blood and pull the needle back out before you even have time to say ow." "How much will it hurt?" Jeanette asked. "It'll feel like someone pinched very hard. Nothing more than that." "Well, okay. Let's get this over with." (moments later) 'Alright. All done. I'll send these to the lab. Now, even though a chipmunk's dna is simpler than say, a dog or something, it will take a few days to get the results. Maybe even a week. You'd be surprised how much blood work we actually have to do here. But, it shouldn't be longer than a week." "Well, okay. Thanks, Cora. You know my address so just send the bill there." "Alright then, Dave. Don't be strangers." "Why would we wanna come here again?" Alvin asked. "Alvin!" Dave yelled. ( That night.) "Cash, Katrina, come here!" Dave yelled. The two raced to their room. "What is it, Dave?" Cash asked. 'Check out your beds." The two young munks looked. Cash's bed was deck out all in black, with red dragon symbols sewn into the sheets. Katrina's was pure white, with rose designs on her sheets. "This is awesome!" Katrina yelled. "You'll be able to sleep comfortably in here now, right?" 'Yeah!" 'Good. Cause, starting tonight, your gonna need your sleep. Because, tomorrow, you start school."**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day, the chipmunks and chipettes, along with Cash and Katrina, stood in front of their high school. Dave was saying goodbye to everyone. "Alright, guys. You make sure to help Cash and Katrina today. I know they're capable but, this is still new to them." "We got it, Dave. If no one else, Jeanette and I will help them. Right, Jeanette?" Simon asked. "Right. Don't worry, Dave. They're in good hands." "Alright, then. Well, I gotta get going. I'll see you all at three." 'Bye, Dave." the munks said as Dave drove off. "So, now what?" Cash asked. "Now we should go get you checked in with Dr. Rubin. She's the principal here." Simon said. "She's also a huge chipmunks fan." Alvin said. "Yes, but that's a secret." "A secret?" Katrina asked. "Well, she is a fan. A 'huge' fan, as Alvin put it. However, she believes that a principal should show a certain level of class, no pun intended, while doing their job. So, she prefers to keep business and pleasure separate. And to do that, she prefers to keep the fact that she's a fan of ours a secret." Simon said. "Oh, I see." "Yeah, but I don't know how she does it. I mean, she's a got a big ol' chipmunks tattoo on her arm that you can see, plain as day, whenever she reaches up to get something." Alvin said. "I'm sure she has her ways, Alvin. Now, come on. Let's get going. I can see the school buses coming, and school buses mean kids, and kids mean lots of big feet that we have to avoid, or else we get stepped on. And, I don't know about you, but I don't want to get squished this early in the morning.." "Uh, right. Let's book it." The munks headed inside and quickly located Dr. Rubin's office. "Hey, Doc. What's happening with you?" Alvin asked as soon as he walked through the door. "Oh, Alvin!" dr. Rubin scanned the crowd. "Everyone! Please, please. Come in." The eight munks walked into the office and quickly jumped onto their principal's desk. Dr. Rubin immediately noticed Cash and Katrina. "You must be Cash and Katrina. Mr. Seville told me all about you when he called last night. You have my deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother and father." "Thank you, Doctor." Katrina said. Cash nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess it's time we got down to business. Here." Doctor Rubin produced two sheets of paper. "What are these?" Katrina asked. "Emergency contact and health information sheets. Every student has one of these on file. Basically, they tell us who to call if, God forbid, something should happen to you and they also tell us about your medical history. If you have any allergies, medicines you need to take. That sort of thing. Just fill them out real quick and I can give you your schedules." Cash and Katrina filled out the sheets. When Cash went to write his name, he had to erase part of it. Dr. Rubin thought this was strange. Surely, she thought, Cash knew his own name. "What's wrong, Cash?" "I started to write Ikebana as my last name. I forgot there for a second, that I'm a Seville now." Cash wrote down Seville as his last name. "I think I should mention this, just so you two know, in case your still feeling a bit off, we do have a very good counselor on staff." "Well, thanks, Doc. But, I got all the counsel I need right here." Cash said, wrapping his arm around Katrina's shoulders. "And I've got mine right here." Katrina said, returning the gesture. "Confiding in someone who's suffering from the same circumstances. Your right. That's probably what's best for you." The two munks nodded and then handed their papers to their principal. Dr. Rubin looked them over. "Alright. Everything seems to be in order. Here are your schedules. And I suppose that should give your siblings theirs, as long as they're here." Dr. Rubin gave all eight munks their schedules. The munks looked them over and then looked at each others. "Hey, we all got the same classes." Theodore said. 'What a coincidence." Dr. Rubin said, feigning innocence. "Is it really a coincidence, or did you have a hand in this, Dr. Rubin? I mean, aren't you the head of the group that decides the schedules?" Simon asked. "Well, I might've gotten a word in here and there. But, I think it's for the best. I mean, Cash and Katrina seem to be holding up pretty well, but even so, it's probably best to keep them close to the rest of you. And, admittedly, I didn't want to see the rest of you wandering around with out the others. You just look so good together. As three, no, four cute little couples." "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up, Doc. We're not couples. Well, Cash and Katrina are, but not the rest of us." Brittany said. 'Are you sure?" "What?" "Come on, it's obvious to everyone how much you want each other." "That's what I told them!" Cash said. "See? Your own brother and your principal both see it. Your not hiding anything from anyone." The chipmunks and chipettes muttered nervously and unintelligibly. Finally, Jeanette said something that could be hear clearly. "Well, it's not like the idea of Simon and I being together has never crossed my mind, it's just that…" Simon was shocked to hear this from Jeanette. Dr. Rubin laughed at the munks reactions. "I see that this is sort of a touchy subject for you. I'll leave you to sort it out yourselves. Although, I will say this, if you six really did hook up, it would make not only you happy, but a lot of your fans too." Dr. Rubin said, with a wink. "Now then, I need to ask you lot two questions." The munks looked up. "What are they?" Alvin asked. "Well, the first is strictly for me, so I'll get it out of the way first. Cash? Katrina?" 'Yes?" Katrina said. 'Can I get a picture with you two?" "What?" "Well, who can say that they were first to get their picture taken with the new members of the chipmunks and chipettes?" "Hang on, Doc. We made them members of the family, not the bands." Alvin said. 'Well, I think you should. I mean, I'm not a betting woman but, if I was, I'd bet anything that they're just as good of performers as any of you." "She does have a point, Alvin." Simon said, finally, fully coming out of his state of shock. "I mean, all three of us are pretty good performers, and Cash is our brother. Who can say Cash isn't just as good as us? Same goes for Kate and the girls." "Well, I guess you've got a point. Okay. We'll put them through their paces later and then we'll see." "Well, then, I guess we can take that picture now, Dr. Rubin." Cash said. Dr. Rubin nodded and quickly got her digital camera out. She handed it to Simon and he took the picture. Dr. Rubin looked at the picture on the back screen. 'Oh, that looks great. Thanks, you two." "No problem." Both young munks said together. "Now, what was the other thing you needed to ask us?" Alvin asked. "Well, this is about the school." "What about it?" Alvin asked. "Well, you see, during the summer, someone broke into the school, ransacking various departments and stealing valuable materials." "That's terrible!" Jeanette said. 'What departments got hit and what got stolen?" Cash asked. "Well, the gym, science lab and the school pantry were hit the worst. As for what was stolen, well, let's see. Nothing was really taken from the gym, though every locker in both locker rooms had been torn through. Some even had their doors nearly torn off their hinges. It was like someone had pried the doors open one by one with something and then checked for anything of value inside. Now on to the science lab. That had some very valuable and dangerous chemicals taken. Why, I don't know. The only reason I could think of was that they were stolen for their monetary value, and the thief planned to resell them. Now, as for the pantry, all that was stolen was food. Nothing that isn't replaceable. However, a few of the machines we use to repair the food were damaged in the robbery and those need to be fixed. And, the most unfortunate thing of all, is that the school doesn't have the money to have these things fixed or replaced. Sure, we've put in a request for aid from the school board, but you know how they are." "Slow as old molasses." Alvin said. 'Exactly. These problems need to be solved as soon as possible, and waiting around for the school board would take too long. However, as the saying goes, in every dark cloud there is a silver lining. And in our school's case, the silver lining is standing right in front of me." "You mean us?" Theodore asked. "That's right. You see everyone, there's a county wide talent competition starting in two weeks. The grand prize is twenty thousand dollars, which more than enough to repair all the damage and replace everything. So, with what was left, maybe we could make a few upgrades here and there as well. So, even though I hate to drop a bombshell on you all on the very first day of school, I don't have much choice. We really need the money. So, will you please do it?" "Give us a minute to deliberate." Simon said. Both groups of munks, except Cash and Katrina, formed a huddle. A moment later, they broke free and gave their answer. "We've decided that we'll do it. And, we'll do it as two separate groups. As the chipmunks and chipettes. That'll give the school twice as a good a chance at winning. If one group doesn't make it, the school still has a chance with other." Eleanor said. 'Oh, thank you so much! I could kiss you all!" "That's alright, Dr. Rubin. We're happy to do it." Brittany said. Dr. Rubin nodded and said "I'll pick up the sign up sheet during lunch. I'm meeting my visiting mother for lunch today, so I'll pick it up while I'm out and I'll meet you in, oh, how about Ms. Otega's room after school?" "Sounds good to us." Alvin said. "Alright then. It's settled. Now, you'd better get moving, or you'll be late for first period." ( Later, at lunch) "Hmm." Simon said. "What's up, Simon? You've barely touched your food." Cash said. 'I can't stop thinking about what Dr. Rubin told us this morning." "Yeah, that robbery sure is messed up." Alvin said. "Yes, but there's something in particular about it that just doesn't sit right with me." "Nothing about it should sit right with anybody, Sy." Alvin said. "I know. It's just, this one thing is bothering me more than anything." 'Well, what is it?' Cash asked. "Well, maybe I'm over analyzing things but, doesn't it seem like the thief targeted places important to us?" 'What do you mean, Sy?" Alvin asked. 'Well, look at it this way, Alvin. Even though you were run off the football team by the other players, your still technically the 'jock' of the group, and that makes the gym your domain. The science lab? Well, that's obviously me. And the pantry, well, anyone who knows anything about Theodore know about his love of food, so the pantry and kitchen have direct link to him." "Do you really think the thief, or thieves, were going after places he or she or they knew was important to us?" Theodore asked. "I hope not. I hope it's just coincidence. But, you can't deny the links." "Well, thinking along the lines of Simon's hunch, there's only one person who comes to mind that could possibly be the culprit. And that's.." Jeanette started. Alvin interrupted. 'I know exactly what your going to say, Jean. Ian Hawke, right?" "Right." "Would Ian really do that?" Theodore said. "Well, considering the blows to his career he's taken lately, I'd say he's desperate enough to try. And, you know he hates us, so the targeted rooms make sense." Simon said. "But, why attack the school? And especially during the summer?" Eleanor said. 'Nobody ever accused Ian of thinking things through very well. I mean, when he kidnapped you girls, he locked you in a cage with a lock who's combination was all ones!" Alvin said. 'Huh?" Cash and Katrina said together. "We'll tell you later." Alvin said. ( Later, in music class) "Hey, guys." Julie Otega said. "Hey, Julie. How's Toby? We haven't heard anything from him." Alvin said. 'He's fine. Did you know he's looking for a job?" 'Whoa! Toby and job. There's two words I never thought would be linked together." Simon said. "I'll take that as a no. Well, he is." "Well, looks like hooking up with you was a good thing for him." Simon said. "Yeah, I guess. So, are you going to introduce me?" Julie asked, pointing to Cash and Katrina. "Oh, yeah. Julie, this is Cash and Katrina." Alvin said. "Oh, right. I heard about you from Dr. Rubin. I'm very sorry to hear about your mom and dad. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me." "Thanks, Ms. Otega." Katrina said. 'Oh, please, call me Julie. Well, at least outside of class." "Okay." "So, you guys members of the bands yet?' "You're the second person to ask that today. So you know what? I say it's time to put them through their paces. Hey, everybody!" Alvin yelled to the class. The class turned to look at Alvin. 'This is Cash and Katrina. Cash and is my, Simon and Theodore's long lost brother. And Katrina, well, she's the girls long lost sister. They came to live with us a few days ago. If you want the full details, ask us later. Anyway, we're thinking about having them join our bands. But, we want to make sure they the got the stuff. So, you guys up for playing focus group?" "Yeah!" The class yelled. "Well, there you go guys. Stage is all yours." Julie said. 'Um, okay. But, what do we sing?" Katrina asked. "I got an idea.' Cash said. He whispered the idea into Katrina's ear. 'Oh, I love that song!" "Yeah, me too. You want to try it?" "Of course. Let's do it!" 'Right." Cash and Katrina stood before the class. Cash crossed his arms in front of him. Katrina followed his lead. "I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go. Good girls go bad.' After cash belted out this opening, the two young munks began dancing, showing off moves that impressed even their siblings. "I know your type(Your type).You're daddy's little girl. Just take a bite(One bite).Let me shake up your world. 'Cause just one night couldn't be so wrong. I'm gonna make you lose control. She was so shy. Till I drove her wild. I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go bad. You were hanging in the corner with your five best friends. You heard that I was trouble, but you couldn't resist. I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go. Good girls go bad." "I know your type(Your type).Boy, you're dangerous. Yeah, you're that guy(That guy)I'd be stupid to trust. But just one night couldn't be so wrong. You make me want to lose control." "She was so shy. Till I drove her wild. I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go bad." "I was hanging in the corner, with my five best friends. I heard that you were trouble, but I couldn't resist." "I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go. Good girls go bad. Good girls go bad. Good girls go bad. Oh, she got away with the boys in the place. Treat 'em like they don't stand a chance." "And he got away with the girls in the back. Acting like they're too hot to dance." "Yeah, she got away with the boys in the place. Treat 'em like they don't stand a chance." "And he got away with the girls in the back. Acting like they're too hot to dance." "I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go. The good girls go bad, yeah. Good girls go bad." 'I was hanging in the corner, with my five best friends. I thought that you were trouble, but I couldn't resist." "I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go bad. I make them good girls go. Good girls go bad." When the two finished, they took a bow. The entire class clapped wildly. "That good enough for you, Alvin?" Simon asked. "Y-yeah. That was awesome. And it was unrehearsed too." Unbeknownst to the munks, one of their classmates had accidentally hit the P.A. button and that had caused the entire school, including Dr. Rubin, to be able to hear Cash and Katrina's performance. It had even reached the ears of a certain man in the basement. He had hit very hard times, since his last run in with the chipmunks. It was Ian Hawke, working as the school's janitor under an assumed name and look. "Is that Alvin and Brittany? No. It sounds similar, but different enough to be unique. And man do they sound good together. I gotta try to get a hold of those two. Hopefully, I can convince them to join me. Lord knows I need the money, and those chemicals I took from the science lab didn't fetch nearly enough. I need to clean myself up and find those two."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After school, Dr. Rubin met up with the munks in Julie's classroom. "Hello, everyone." "Hey, Doc." Alvin said. "I heard your performance earlier, Cash and Katrina. You two sounded amazing." "Well, thanks, doc. But how'd you hear us? We weren't that loud." Cash said. "I heard over the P.A." 'But how…" "I guess one of your classmates must've accidentally hit the P.A. button and your song spread all over the school from there." "So, everyone heard then…" Katrina said, becoming embarrassed. Brittany saw her sister's embarrassment. "Hey, there's no need to be embarrassed, sis. You and Cash sounded amazing. I'll bet all other kids in school are wishing they could sing that good." "You think so?" "I down right know so." "Well, in that case, I didn't mean to make anyone envious." Brittany cocked her head back and groaned. "You've lived a sheltered until now, haven't you?" 'What makes you say that?" "What you just said. Kate, when you've got a gift like you do, and you use it, there are bound to be people who are jealous. And there's nothing you can do about it. All you can do is put your gift to work, and enjoy every minute of it." "Is that what you do?" "Naturally. I know that some people will always be jealous of the fact that I'm a good singer and they're not. I know there'll always be haters. But, as you constantly hear rappers say, you've got to learn to ignore the haters if you plan to get anywhere. Forget about the people who can't or won't accept your gift for what it is. Focus on those that do appreciate it, and focus on yourself, on what you feel about your gift. What I'm saying is, when you use your gift, do it for yourself and for those that don't hate. That way, you'll always have fun and you'll entertain people." "Brittany…" "I'd listen to her if I was you." Dr. Rubin said. "I'm no singer myself, but I do have a keen ear. It helps me chose good music, and hear when someone is laying down the truth. And that's exactly what I heard from Brittany. And think about this, Katrina. Think about some of the greatest performers of all time. Mozart, Elvis, Hendrix. Some of the all time greats. And you know what made them great? They didn't waste time getting bogged down in worrying about the people who didn't like them. They just kept on doing what they did best, and I'll bet that made them happy, and it definitely made lots of other people happy. So, tell me, Katrina. Do you want your name to one day be in the 'pantheon' of great performers, or not?" "Well, I guess I do." "Then shed this shy stuff and do what the great ones before you did. Do what Brittany told you." Katrina was taken aback. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I too forward?" "No, I think your right. All my life I've been sort of shy and reserved. Heck, it took me a ridiculously long time to open up to any other member of the Choy family, other than my adopted mom, Macy. And thinking back on that, I feel stupid. There's no logical reason for me to be this shy. I'm fifteen years old now. I'm supposed to be outgoing and adventurous. It's about time I changed. I don't think I can do it all at once, but starting now, I gonna work at it." "Thata girl, Kate!" Brittany yelled. Dr. Rubin smiled. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, I've got the paper you need right here." Dr. Rubin pulled the talent contest sign up sheet out of her pocket and presented it to the chipmunks and chipettes. The groups quickly looked it over. "Hey, look. They allow us to have one alternate, in case one of us gets hurt or sick and can't perform.' Jeanette said. "Well, we know who our alternate is. Let me see that." Theodore said. He quickly wrote down his, Simon, and Alvin's names. Then, under the alternate portion, Theodore happily scribbled in Cash's name. 'And, Cash Seville. There. Here you go girls." Theodore passed the sheet to the chipettes. Brittany wrote down her and her sisters' names, and then turned to Katrina. 'You okay with being our alternate, Kate?" "Sure." "Hey, Brittany." Jeanette called. "What is it, jean?" "I over looked something. I curse my near sightedness. But, anyway, look. I saw this once I got a closer look." Brittany read the portion of the sheet that Jeanette pointed out. "Let's see. If felt necessary, alternate can perform with all other members of group present. I guess that means that, if we feel like it, we can have Kate perform with us, or the guys can have Cash perform with them, whether any of us are sick or not." "Cool. Hurry, write her name down, Britt." Eleanor said. "Right." Brittany quickly wrote down Katrina's name and then handed the sheet back to Dr. Rubin. "Alright. I'll go turn this in for you. The people running the competition should contact you in a few days. But, I want you to start practicing tonight. After you get done with your homework of course. And I want you to do that every night until the competition is over." "You got it, Dr. Rubes." Alvin said. "And, hey, I'll even let you guys stay and practice in here after school, so you can use the instruments in here. I know you guys can't keep all the instruments you might need at home, so feel free to try here. And I'll help you." "Cool, thanks, Julie." "Alright, then. Thank you, Miss Otega. But for now, get out of here. I'm pretty sure Mr. Seville is outside waiting for you and wondering where you are." 'Right. Later!" Alvin called as he lead the others out of the room and out to the car. Dave was standing outside the car, waiting for them. 'There you are. I was about to come in and look for you." "Sorry, Dave. We were talking to Dr. Rubin about something." Brittany said. Dave looked down to Alvin. "Alvin." He said. "I didn't do anything." "For once, he's telling the truth, Dave." Simon said. "Hey, what do ya mean 'for once'?" Simon ignored Alvin's yelling. "Well, if Alvin wasn't in trouble, what were you talking about?" Dave asked. "Well, Dr. Rubes has got us lined up to save the school again." Alvin said. 'Save the school?" "He means raise money." Simon said. "What happened this time? Don't tell me the music department is trouble again." "No. It's something else." "Well, what happened?" " Alvin ran and jumped into the open passenger side window of the car and sat on the edge. "We'll tell you about it on the ride home. Hmm. Hey, Cash!" "Yeah, Al?" "Who, first time I've been called Al." "I can call you Alvin instead. Whatever you prefer." 'You know, it actually feels pretty good to have a nick name. let's go with Al." "Okay. So, what do you want, Al?" "I wanna test you one more time. See, if you gonna be a member of the chipmunks, then you have to be able to jump. High. Cause we do a lot of acrobatic moves in our performances. If you can't even make the jump from there to this window, your in trouble. So, let's see your jump." "Okay." Cash ran and jumped, like a rocket being launched, at the window. However, he jumped too high and it looked like he would collide with the top of the door. Thinking quickly, Cash stuck his hands out and pushed off the top the door. He landed on the roof of the car with a series of back flips. The rest of the Seville family clapped wildly and Katrina swooned. "Hmph, show off." Alvin said. "Funny. Don't we usually hear that said about you, Alvin?" Simon asked. "Oh, just shut up and get in the car, Simon." Alvin plopped down into the seat. Dave opened the door and the rest of the munks climbed in. Cash jumped off the roof and into Dave's hand. Dave then set Cash down in the seat, next to Katrina. He then pulled the seat belt across the munks and buckled it. He noticed that Alvin looked upset. "And so the sibling rivalry begins." He thought. He then shut the door, walked around the car, got in on the driver's side, buckled himself in and started the car. He then pulled away from the car and began talking to Simon and Jeanette, who were seated closest to him, about what they had talked to Dr. Rubin about. Meanwhile, Brittany was trying to cheer Alvin up. "Ah, don't be mad, Alvy. After all, you did ask him to show you how high he can jump." "First of all, britt, Alvy…actually, I kind of like that. Keep calling me that." 'Okay." "As for Cash's jump, he didn't have to jump so high. Or the do the back flips." "Well, the back flips were probably just for show but, the jump, well, maybe that's how high he jumps naturally." "That jump? Natural? What is he? The bionic chipmunk?" "I doubt it. Look, Alvy, all I'm saying is that we don't know all there is to know about Cash, or Katrina, yet. Give it some time, and we'll know everything. But, since they're bound to surprise now and then, you've gotta stop getting upset when Cash proves that he might be better at something than you." "You won't get mad Katrina if she proves that she's better at something than you?" "She already has." "Huh?" "She's already shown that she's better at admitting her feelings for somebody than I am." "Again, huh?" Brittany didn't answer. She fidgeted for a moment and then took Alvin's hand in her own. Alvin immediately took the meaning of this gesture. "You mean?" Alvin said quietly. Brittany nodded. "You'll have me, right?" "Absolutely." Brittany smiled ear to ear. "But, see, Alvy? You and I have known each other for a year and we just now admitted what everybody else already knew. Katrina on the other hand. She knew she wanted Cash, probably from the moment she met him. And she wasn't slow about becoming his girlfriend. Or did you forget that they hooked up the very night of the day they met?" "No, I didn't forget." "Well, see, Kate's already proven that she's better at admitting her feelings than I am. Even though she's supposed to be shy and reserved, that was one instance where she proved she was better than me. But, you know what, I'm cool with that. In fact, I'm happy for her. If being with Cash makes her happy, then I'm happy. I mean, look at them talking to Theo and Ely. They're so happy to be with each other and to be talking with their siblings that they can't hear us." "Yeah, they are pretty wrapped up in their conversation and each other. You know, Britt. I think Dr. Rubes was right." 'About what?" "Well, she said us being together would make us happy, and you know, the longer you hold my hand, the happier I'm getting." "And who else is right?" " 'sigh' You are. Your right. If we're ever gonna live together, then I gotta learn to not get jealous when Cash proves he's better at something than me. So, I'm gonna try to the learn that." 'Good. And, I'll understand if it takes some time. After all, your still you and old habits die hard. But, I'll be with you every step of the way." "Thanks, Britt." Brittany leaned in towards Alvin's ear and whispered 'I, I love you, Alvin." Alvin's eyes went wide. "Boy, that was fast." They heard Dave say. They thought Dave was talking about them. They quickly broke apart. "What was fast, Dave?" Alvin asked. "How fast you agreed to help the school. So selfless. I'm proud of you guys." "Thanks, Dave. Um, you know Dr. Rubin wants us to start practicing tonight, right?" "Yeah, and I'm fine with that. So long as you do your homework first." "Of course. That's what Dr. Rubin told us to do." Simon said. "And thankfully, we don't usually get that much homework." Jeanette said. "So we'll be able to practice a lot. We should start thinking about what we're gonna sing." Meanwhile, in the school basement, Ian had just finished shaving. "There, now I look presentable. Tomorrow, I work a little of that Ian magic and sign those two. And then, it's back to the top."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next day, the chipmunks began to get into the rhythm of high school life. In Science class, Cash and Simon were paired a lab partners for the day. Simon was somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to have Jeanette be his lab partner. Unfortunately for him, she was paired with Katrina. However, after thinking about it for a moment, he saw it as a relatively fair trade. He didn't have the girl he liked working with him, but neither did Cash. As Simon saw it, they were on equal ground and they would just have to see how good of a team they would make. "Okay, Cash. Let's get started." "Right. So, what are we supposed to do?" 'Well, let's see what the instructions say." Simon pulled the page up so he could read it. 'Okay, for this experiment, we have to mix hydrochloric acid with…ammonia? That can't be right. The chlorine in the hydrochloric acid would react with the ammonia and make mustard gas, which is toxic to everything." "Uh, Sy, it says mix the hydrochloric acid with powered begonia flowers and monitor the effects." "Oh, so this is a monitoring the effects of acid on living things test.' "Well, formerly living. I don't think the flowers survived being dried out and crushed into powder." "Oh, so monitoring the effects of acid on biological subjects." "That seems more like it." Simon groaned and pulled his glasses off. "How did I misread begonia as ammonia? I mean, they sound similar, but are spelled completely differently. And, ammonia is a longer word than begonia. 'sigh' I guess I need stronger glasses. How am I ever going to be a respectable scientist if I can't even read the labels on the bottles of chemicals?" "Well, first of all, just think I should mention this, you've already got a successful rock career, which I don't see going away any time soon. But, more importantly, you have to remember, Sy, that every scientist had problems. I mean, do you really think Einstein nailed his theory of relativity in one shot? Probably not. I'll bet he stayed up many late nights, fine tuning his theory. And, man, I feel sorry for Isaac Newton. I mean, the poor guy had to have an apple fall on his head before he figured out gravity. And you just know that it wasn't one of those soft, mushy apples. You know, it was more than likely one of those hard as brick apples. Imagine that crackin' ya on the skull. Look, Sy, what I'm saying is, every scientist has his or her struggles. But, the fact that he, or she, pushed through that made them all the greater. Overcoming various hardships along the road to your great discovery, just adds to your eventual fame. Your cred, if you will. And considering what you got stacked against you, your eventual cred will be huge. I mean, first and foremost, you're a talking chipmunk. Secondly, your only eight inches tall. And finally, your heavily far-sighted. You overcome all that, and I pretty much guarantee you that the name Simon Seville will plastered on the wall along side the names of Einstein and Newton. And, one more thing, you don't have to struggle through this alone. I mean, you got Jeanette, who's obviously more than willing to help you out. And, you got me. I have no problems playing Igor" "Ha ha, thanks, Cash. You certainly know how to cheer somebody up." 'Hey, what are brothers for? Now, let's get started on this project." 'Right." Simon picked up the container of the begonia powder and held it steady while Cash poured some of the hydrochloric acid on top of it. Simon then set the container down. 'Okay, now let's start monitoring." Simon said. "Right. Hmm, looks like it's causing the powder to dissolve." "Not surprising. Hydrochloric acid is highly corrosive. It eats through just about anything. That's why we have to have special containers to hold this reaction." Cash nodded. He then noticed Simon sneaking a quick glance at Jeanette. However, at the same time, Jeanette was doing the same thing. Their eyes met and they quickly looked away from each other, in obvious embarassment. Cash chuckled to himself. "I'm telling you, Sy. You and Jean need to talk." "W-what?" "Oh come on, you two want each other so bad that it's painful. To me. It's actually hurting to me to watch this. So, I'm gonna play match maker. Excuse me." Cash jumped off the table and walked over to the teacher. He asked the teacher if he could switch places with Jeanette. When the teacher asked why, Cash told him that he thought that, if Simon and Jeanette worked together, they'd figured everything about the experiment out and then would be able to show the class how it's done. The teacher couldn't deny that that would probably help the class, so he agreed to the switch. "Jeanette." The teacher called. 'Yes?" "I've changed my mind. I want you working with Simon." "Um, o-okay. But, who'll work with Katrina?" "Cash, obviously." "Um, well, okay." Cash and Jeanette traded seats. As Cash walked by Simon's table, he mouthed words 'talk to her' to his brother. Minutes later, after watching their siblings talk out of the corners of their eyes, Cash and Katrina saw Jeanette lay her head on Simon's shoulder, and Simon wrap his arm around Jeanette. Cash then acted like he was dusting off his hands. "There, done and done." "You had something to do with that, didn't you?" "Well, yeah. I told Simon that it was hurting me to watch him and Jeanette pine for each other. And I don't know about you, babe, but I don't like being in pain. So, I went and played match maker." "Boy, your bound and determined to get your brothers together with my sisters." 'Well, I figure that, if you got a good thing like we do, share it. Make it be infectious, or addictive, like a drug." 'He he, how's that Kesha song go? 'Your love is my drug'?" "I think so. And that is one drug that it is okay to spread around." "Well, it seems like you did a good job. You continue to surprise me, and that just makes me love you all the more." "Heh, I'm just getting started playing the hook up guy." 'Hook up guy?" 'Yeah, imagine this as a comedy movie. There's always one guy, or if it's a chick flick a girl. Who always sees to be able to hook any guys up with the girl he wants. In this case, I'm the hook up guy, and I'm just getting started. But for now, let's finish this experiment." 'Right." Later that day, after school. "Okay, guys. Your sounding great." Julie said. 'Well, what did you expect?" Alvin said. Julie chuckled and then said 'so, have you decided on what your gonna sing yet?" "Yeah. We're gonna sing one of our hits, Diamond dolls.." Brittany said. "Sounds like fun." "It is. We love that song. Dave was having himself a good day when he came up with that one." Eleanor said. " What about you, guys?" Julie asked the chipmunks. 'We're gonna sing Bon Jovi's we weren't born to follow." Alvin said proudly. "I've heard that one. It's kind of a big, show stopping number. Don't you think you should save that one until the final round?" "Hmm, good point. Well, then, I guess we don't know what we're gonna sing." "Well, that's okay. You've still got plenty of time." Julie looked at the clock. "Whoa! We've been here for an hour. We'd better be getting out of here." "Alright, let's go." While Julie packed up here things, the Seville family headed out to Dave's car. However, theyw ere greeted at the door by Ian Hawke. "Hello, there, my fine, furry friends." "Ah! Ian!" Eleanor cried. "Friends? Ha! I'd sooner make out with a sewage pipe than be your friend." Alvin said. "Sticks and stones, Alvin." "Yeah, speaking of them, where are they? Cause I could use some to wail on you. Dave, who had gone inside the school to talk to Dr. Rubin about the up coming competition, came around the corner to see Ian holding the munks up. "Ian!" He yelled. "Ah, Dave. I'll thank you and the rest of your misfit family to stay out of my business here. i only want to talk to the two new ones. The ones in black and white. What are your names, kids?" "Katrina." Katrina said. 'Cash." Cash said. "Katrina and Cash. Yeah, I think I can market that. Sort of like a Sonny and Cher, or Donny and Marie kind of thing. Listen up guys. I was in this building yesterday and I heard your performance." "Ew, just knowing that Ian was in the same building as us makes my skin crawl." Brittany said. 'Would you please, be quet? I'm trying to have an important conversation with these two. Now then, Cash, Katrina. How would you like it I could make you major rock stars? And I do mean major. Bigger than the chipmunks or chipettes or both together could ever hope to be?" "You could do that?" Katrina asked. "Of course. Duo's always work out well. And why's that? Because they follow the old adage 'two's company, but three's a crowd'. Something both of these groups neglected to heed. And don't get started on both groups playing together. Six people on stage at one time? That's an accident waiting to happen. But, with just the two of you, you could clean house. So, what do you say?" 'They say no." Alvin said. "This doesn't concern you, Alvin." Ian said. 'The heck it doesn't. Cash is my brother and Kate, well, she's growin' on me. Kinda of like a sister. And, besides all that, I'm just really tired of listening to you talk, Ian. I played nice and let you say your piece. Now, I'm gonna say mine. Listen up guys. Here's the truth about Ian." Alvin pulled Cash and Katrina in close and whispered into their ears. Cash and Katrina's eyes noticeably widened. "He didn't." Katrina said. "Oh yes he did. And that's not all. Later on, with the girls, he.." Alvin continued to tell Cash and Katrina about every bit of Ian's sorted past. 'He did that both groups?" Cash asked. "Yup, and he'll do it to you too. If you hook up with him, that is. So, trust me. If you remember nothing else I ever tell you, make sure you remember this. Ian Hawke is a slime ball. In fact, he's the slimiest of the slime balls. So, remember to stay away from him." "Everything he just said is a lie!" Ian yelled. "Alvin's lying. He's a pathological liar. Everybody knows that!" Cash and Katrina looked at each other and then back to their siblings. Then they turned back to Ian. "Sorry, Mr. Hawke, but, we're more inclined to believe our siblings." Katrina said. "So, thanks but no thanks. I think Dave is more than capable of representing us." Cash said. "You heard them Ian. Now take a hike!" Brittany called. Ian got immediately angry and pointed a finger at the munks. "You listen well, you furry little freaks. You wrecked my life, and one day, you will put it back together. Mark my words." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. Now get out of here, before I go rabid munk on you." Alvin said. Ian left in a huff and was quickly out of sight. "Was he really as bad as you let on, Alvin?" Katrina asked. "Every bit as bad." "And if he locked the six of us in cages, who knows, with just two of you, maybe he might've done worse." Simon said. 'I really hate to think what Ian would do to you guys if you hooked up with him and then crossed him, and we weren't around to lend a hand." Jeanette said. "Well, don't worry, everyone. Ian's gone now and he won't be bothering us again." Dave said. 'At least not for a while anyway." Eleanor said sadly. "Well, come on. Let's go home. You guys have homework and practicing to do." Dave said. 'Ugh. I hate that word. Homework. Why do we have to do school work at home? Why can't we just chill?" Alvin asked. Meanwhile, in downtown, a young Japanese man was stepping out of a cab. "Here's your money." he told the cab driver. The driver thanked him and then drove off. "Now then. I know that little freak went to live with his brothers. So, where do Alvin and the chipmunks live?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next day at school, Cash and Katrina began to try to make friends outside of the family. Katrina had met a girl, named Amanda, who she immediately hit it off with. Cash meanwhile, was laughing and joking with the boys Alvin was friends with and had introduced him too. One boy in particular, named Jason Diggs, had told Cash that he had come close to feeling the kind of pain Cash did when Agito died after Cash had talked about it. Apparently, Jason's father, Gary Diggs, had bad kidneys and needed a transplant. He was put on the waiting list and did eventually get the transplant he needed, however he almost died once while waiting. Understanding the terrible feeling that Cash had experienced all too well, Jason connected with Cash and they became friends. Currently, after hearing about Alvin's time on the football team last year, Cash was showing off his athletic ability. However, it seemed that he was more soccer inclined than football inclined. At this moment, Cash was bouncing a small rock off of his knee. Alvin and the boys were counting how long Cash could keep the rock in motion, by counting the number of times he bounced the rock off of his knee. Right now, they were up to a count of one hundred. "Okay, Cash. I think you can stop now. You just broke a hundred." Jason said. Cash bounced the rock high into the air and caught it with his hand on it's way back down. The guys commented on Cash's prowess. "He definitely is your brother, Alvin." One of the boys said. "Yeah, only instead of having hands, he's got feet. Hey, Cash, have you ever thought about joining a soccer team?" Jason asked. "No, not really." "Well, if you ever get the urge, just come find me. I'm the captain of the school soccer team. I can think of a few ways that you could benefit the team." "Well, when's the team's practice teams?" "After school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays." "And today's Wednesday." "Sure is." "Well, maybe I can drop in today and check out what it's like and then I'll let you know." "Cool." "Hey, what about our practice? You know that Dr. Rubes is counting on us." Alvin said. "Don't worry, Al. I'm still gonna go to practice. I'll do that first, then, if there's still time, I'll go check out the soccer team. Then, I'll head out to the car. Simple as that." "Well, I guess that could work. Hmm, hey, Jason?" " Yeah, Alvin?" "Got room on the team for me?" "Hmm, well, I can think of a few places you could work." "Cool, then, mind if I come check out the team with Cash?" "No, not at all. We could use more players. The more, the better." Alvin nodded. "Hey, Alvin, Cash look." One of the boys said, pointing to a near by table. Sitting on the table were Theodore and Eleanor. They were being mocked and teased by the school bullies. "Ah, dang it, not them again." Alvin said. "Who are they?" "Oh, they're basically the designated, stereotypical school bullies. They messed with Theodore the first day of school last year, and now they're right back at it." "They did what?" Cash asked, becoming agitated by the knowledge that this was not the first time the bullies had bothered Theodore. "You heard me. They were messing with him. Makin' fun of his weight, callin' him fat. I know he's the chubby one, but still, you don't have mock the guy." Alvin looked closely. "Oh, and now they're pickin' on Ely too. What is they're problem? What Theodore's not enough? They gotta pick on every chipmunk wearin' green. Man, and after what Sy and I did to them, you'd think they'd be smart enough to know better." 'What did you and Sy do?" "We showed them what chipmunk claws can do to ordinary clothes. Guess they need a reminder." Alvin said, making a fist." "No, don't waste your energy, Al. I got this one." Cash picked up the rock. "Watch this. Moron on the right, left ear." Cash threw the rock into the air and then jumped up. He did a front flip in the air, in order to kick the rock at the bully he was targeting. Cash's foot caught the rock exactly as he intended it to and it went flying into the bully's ear. "Ow! Who did that?" The boy yelled. Cash immediately darted over to the table and stood in front of Theodore and Eleanor. "Right, estupido." He said. The boy looked down. "There's another one of you?" "That's right, and just like the others, I don't take kindly to people who pick on my little brother. So, if you know what's good for you, you'll leave my little brother and his girlfriend alone." "Girlfriend?" Eleanor cried. Cash looked back over his shoulder at Eleanor. "Oh, come on, Ely. Do you really think your fooling anybody? I mean, seriously, I don't think you two could be anymore obvious. Look at this. Out of all the people available to sit and talk with, you two would rather sit by yourselves, with only each other for company. Now, I'm no relationship expert or anything like that but, that whole scenario throws up a few red flags for me. And, if I can see those flags, everyone else can too." After Cash said this, though it wasn't visible due to her fur, Eleanor blushed. Cash then looked back to the bullies. "Look, they obviously want to be left alone, so why can't you grant them that one wish like everyone else? What did they do to you? Huh? Go ahead and think about it. I'll wait….Can't think of anything? That's because there is nothing. They were minding their own business and then you came along. Seriously, what is wrong with you guys? Does it make you feel tough or something to pick on some one that's only about an eighth your size? Well, it doesn't matter, cause it ends now. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave them alone." The bullies began laughing. "If we know what's good for us? What are you gonna do? Climb up a tree and drop acorns on us?" "You know, I'm glad you brought up climbing. But first, in case you forgot, allow me to remind you what Alvin and Simon did to you guys last year. Alvin told me that he and Simon showed you guys what these claws we chipmunks have can do to clothes. Well, if they can shred clothes that easily, imagine what they can do to human skin. Do you know what we chipmunks use these claws for? Climbing. We sink them into the bark of trees and use them like built in climbing hooks. And by the way, tree bark is much tougher than human skin.. So, if these claws.." Cash showed his claws. "Can go through tree bark, what do you think they'll do to human skin? Oh, and by the way, we talking chipmunks have claws that are retractable, like a cats. That's why you never have and never will see a chipmunk or chipettes poster with our claws showing. So, you'll never see them coming. But, those claws aren't our only built in weapons. You see these teeth?" Cash pointed to the teeth that stuck out of his mouth. "Do you know what we use these for in the wild? We use them to break open the shells of nuts like walnuts and acorns. And by the way, a nutshell is another thing that is tougher than human skin. So, if I used these teeth and these claws to shred your sorry carcass, instead of your shirt, how much of your blood do you think I'll spill?" "I, I ain't afraid of you." the bully said, trying to hide his growing sense of intimidation. "Is that right?" Cash asked. He then lowered his head, and sloshed some of his spit around in his mouth to turn it into foam and than pushed that foam out onto the outside of his mouth. 'well, if that's the case, I guess I have to play my trump card. I was trying to hide this, but you forced my hand. You see…" Cash looked up at the bullies, with the most sadistic look on his face that he could muster. "I have rabies." He then began to snarl and growl at the bullies. He then lunged at them. The bullies tripped all over themselves trying to get away from Cash. Once they were out of sight, Cash began to laugh hysterically. "Oh, that was priceless. Man, I should've just done the rabies bit to begin with." Cash then turned back to Theodore and Eleanor. 'You guys okay?" "Yeah. Thanks, Cash. That was awesome." Eleanor said. Cash bowed and said 'thank you very much, young lady." "Cash?" Theodore asked. "Yeah, Theo?" "Um, thanks for helping us." "No problem, little bro." "Um, you don't really have rabies do you?" Theodore asked, pointing to his own mouth to let Cash know that he still had the foam around his mouth. Cash wiped his mouth and said 'No, that was just some spit that I sloshed around in my mouth to make it foamy. Simple trick, but effective." "Yeah. Um, Cash?" "Yeah?" "Were you as serious about beating that guy up as you sounded?" Cash put his hand on Theodore's shoulder and said 'Theo, listen. We're family. Regardless of what those blood tests we took come back saying, we're family. Cause, you guys took me in right away and treated me like one of your own. Cause of that, I don't really care what those tests say. As far as I'm concerned, you're my little brother. And, I grew up in a home where I was taught that family was one of the most important things in this world, and you gotta protect it when you have to. So, as long as I'm around, no one will get away with messing with a member of my family. And, if somebody still wants to try, the only way that they could keep me from stopping them, is by killing me." One of the boys, who had been watching all of this with Alvin and the others, whistled and then said 'Dang, Alvin. Your bro's hardcore." "Yeah, i guess he is." Meanwhile, Alvin was thinking 'I wish that could be me. I should've dealt with that instead of Cash. Why did I let him take care of it?'. later, at the Seville household, Dave was looking for Cash. Dave walked into his kids room and saw Simon and Jeanette going over something from science class. "Hey, guys?" he asked. "What is it, Dave?" Simon asked. "Have you seen, Cash? I need to talk to him." "Sorry, Dave. The last time I saw Cash was after dinner. I don't know where he is now." "Me neither." Jeanette said. "Well, okay. Go back to what you were doing. I'll go look somewhere else." Dave looked inside Cash and Katrina's room. No one was inside. He then heard noise in the kitchen and headed over to see what it was. In the kitchen, he saw Theodore struggling to carry a large skillet over to the oven. "Theo, you know we could help you that." Eleanor, who was also in the kitchen with Theodore, said. "yeah, let one of us give you a hand." Katrina, the third and final chipmunk in the kitchen., said. 'Thanks for the offer, girls, but no thanks. This is good strength training. After today, I don't wanna be the weak, little brother that everyone has to look out for. I mean, I appreciate everyone being willing to help, but, someday I'm gonna have to stand up for myself. So, I wanna become strong, so I'll be ready to protect myself and what's important to me when the time comes." Theodore said, looking at Eleanor. The young chipette smiled. Finally, Theodore lugged the skillet onto a burner on the stove. "Okay, Kate. Show us how to make authentic stir-fry." "Okay, first you…" Katrina happened to look up, and noticed Dave. 'Oh, hey, Dave. I'm showing Theo and Ely how to make authentic Chinese stir-fry." 'Well, that's nice. So, do any of you know where Cash is?" "No, sorry. But, I do know that Ely and Theo seem a little closer." Katrina said with a giggle. "be quiet, Kate." Eleanor said. Dave repressed a laugh. "Anyway, have you looked outside yet, Dave?" "No. I'll go look there next. Thanks, Ely." Dave went outside. Sure enough, Cash was out back, hacking away at a stick with his sword. 'What are you doing Cash?" "Practicing." "What?" Cash explained everything. 'Oh, well, okay. Anyway, I got a call a few minutes ago. Did you get into a fight at school today?" 'No." "Well, someone from school called and said that some kid reported to the office that you threatened him." "Oh, that. Well, yeah, I guess I did threaten him." "Why though?" "Cause he, and a bunch of his idiot friends, were pickin' on Theo and Ely. And I wasn't gonna let that slide. But, I never laid a finger on him, Dave. I swear. I just said the scariest I could think of to scare him and his friends off so they'd leave Theo and Ely, who obviously wanted to be alone together, alone." "So you were just sticking up for your little brother." "Yup." "Well, that's okay then. But, promise me you won't get into any real fights." "Okay, Dave." Dave then turned around, because he heard a sound. 'Was that the doorbell?" "Better go answer it." Cash said. "Right." Dave left to answer the door and returned a moment later. "Cash?" "Yeah?" "You have a visitor." "Who?" "One of your old relatives from the Ikebana family. Said his name was Ken, and he'd been looking for you for a while." Cash's teeth began to grind together and his grip on the handle of his sword tightened extensively. 'Dave, tell me you didn't let him in the house." "Uh, sorry, but I did He's waiting for you in the den." "Dave, you just did the dumbest thing you could've done." 'What?' "Ken has a psychotic level phobia of rodents. He kills every one he comes across, whether they do something to him or not. Now, tell me, what are all your kids?" "Oh, my God." "Don't worry. His visit will be short. I'll make sure of it."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Cash darted inside and towards the den. To his horror, Katrina, Theodore and Eleanor had come into the den to see who Dave had let inside. Ken was looking at the young munks with a psychotic smile on his face. "Ken!" Cash yelled. "Oh, there you are, murderer. Say, which of these three is the most important to you?" "Like I'd tell you. Now get out of my house!" "No can do, you little freak. Now, tell me, who's the most important?" 'Why do you wanna know?" Dave asked. "Because, Mr. Seville. Your new 'son' killed my grandfather." "No way. Cash would never kill anyone! I know he wouldn't!" Katrina yelled. 'Yeah, Cash is a good guy, and good guys don't kill people." "Well, he did. He killed my grandfather." "Cash, tell us he's lying." Eleanor pleaded. "Of course he is, Eleanor. The grandfather he's talking about, was Agito, my first human father. And, while I won't say we had the perfect father-son relationship, he was still my father, and I would never harm him, let alone." "Then why is he saying that you did?" Simon, who was leading the rest of the chipmunks into the room, asked. "Because, Ken's a psycho who believes whatever his twisted little brain comes up with." "I believe in the truth. You killed Grandpa, and you know you did." "I did not! Agito died of a ruptured aneurism, Ken." "Which you caused!" "Kimiko explained to you what causes aneurisms, at the hospital, the day Agito died!" "Yeah, I remember. Bacteria. Well, I can't say whether my it was caused by the stress grandpa endured while raising and training you, or if it really caused by bacteria, but either way, I know it's your fault. If it was bacteria, then he got it from you, because you're a filthy, disease ridden rat! And I'm surprised that Mr. Seville here is still alive, when he lives with a house full of rats!" "Ken, I've put up with your crap, pretty much all my life. Whatever Insults you have for me, bring it on. It doesn't effect me. But, I will not allow you to insult my family." "And now we're back to them. You still haven't answered my question, you little freak. Which one is the most important to you?" "Why do you wanna know so bad?" Alvin asked. "Because, I want to enact proper retribution. He killed an important member of my family, so now I'll do the same. An eye for an eye." Cash had had enough. He leaped high into the air and at Ken. Ken swatted Cash away. Cash landed on a shelf nearby. He noticed one of Alvin's favorite toys, a Nerf rocket launcher, on the shelf. He picked it up, aimed it at Ken and pulled the trigger. The fired rocket flew straight into Ken's right eye. Ken roared in pain. "I told you to get out, Ken. So, unless you want more pain, get out!" Ken charged at the shelf. Cash fired another shot. The dart hit Ken in his other eye. Now temporarily blinded in both eyes, Ken wildly swung all around, trying to hit Cash. Cash, meanwhile, ran and grabbed Alvin's skateboard and then opened the front door. He then climbed back onto the shelf, then from there, he jumped onto the ceiling fan. He waited for Ken, still blinded, to turn towards him. When he did, Cash jumped down at Ken and slammed into him with enough force to break Ken's already weakened center of balance. Ken lost his balance and Cash placed himself behind Ken. When Ken inevitably fell, Cash pushed Alvin's skate board under Ken to make sure he would land on it. Once he did, Cash pushed Ken, on the skateboard, out the front door and down the front steps. Ken landed on the ground with a heavy thud. He opened his eyes, still red and watering, to see Cash standing over him with the sword Agito had made him pointed at him, and the rest of the Seville family standing at the door watching. "Listen to me, and listen well, Ken. If you value your life, you will leave right now. And you will never come back. If you ever darken this family's doorstep again, I will hurt you, badly. I will slice both of your Achilles tendons, those big tendons on the backs of your ankles which are very important to walking, completely in half. And, if you ever harm even the tiniest strand of fur on any one of my family's heads, I will end you. But, right now, I'm giving you the chance to just walk away. Because, you see, I value life, Ken. All life. Even one as twisted as yours. I do not relish the idea of having to end a life. Not even yours. So, I suggest you take this opportunity to leave. Leave, Ken, and never bother me or my family again." Ken got up and Cash backed up. Ken looked to the Seville family, then down at Cash. "Now you listen to me, you little freak. I will have my revenge yet. You will suffer. And eventually, it will be me who ends your miserable life. You have my word. This is war, and I will be the victor." Ken then took off towards the street and quickly disappeared the corner. Cash then turned back towards the house and walked up the steps. As he walked past the family, he said 'if anyone needs me, I'll be in my room.' He then walked off towards his and Katrina's room. 'Cash? Cash, wait! Talk to me!" Katrina yelled and then took off after the black clad munk. Alvin looked at the rest of his stunned family. "Nobody's gonna say it? It has to be me? Fine then. What the heck just happened?" "I think Cash just saved all of our lives." Simon said. "Yeah. He didn't do it in a big, movie style way, but still, I think Simon's right. Cash just saved all of our necks." Brittany said. "He's a hero." Eleanor said. "And he's scary. I'm glad he's on our side." Jeanette said. "Yeah." Theodore agreed. 'I'm going to go call the cops." Dave said. Meanwhile, Cash busy beating the stuffing, literally, out of his pillow. He was extremely angry, and he needed to get rid of his anger. To Cash, the pillow was Ken. "Cash?" Katrina asked, gingerly walking into the room. 'Cash, are you okay?" "I'm fine!" Cash growled in between punches to the pillow. "Cash, stop punching your pillow. You still need it to sleep on, and a beat up pillow is no good." "But it makes me feel better." Katrina decided that she needed to calm Cash down, and in a hurry. That was when she remembered some Macy had told her before. "Remember, Katrina. Love conquers all. Even the deepest hatred or rage." Katrina heard Macy's voice say once again in her head. Katrina nodded to herself and then walked over to Cash, grabbed him by the wrist and spun him around. She then kissed him. She left her eyes open to make sure her plan worked. To her delight, it did. Cash's fists unraveled and all other physical signs of his anger faded. She then broke the kiss. 'There. Feel better now?" "Yeah." "Good. Stay that way. I hate to see you so upset, Cash." "I'm sorry, Kate. But, I can't help it. He threatened my family! You and all the others! He threatened your lives and I…" "I know, Cash. I don't blame you. But, it's over now. So please, go back to being the Cash I like. The happy, go lucky Cash." "okay. I'll try. Hey, you know what always cheers me up?" 'No, what?" "Listening to the numa numa song on the net. Come on, let's go get on the computer. I'll tell you, Kate. I don't have a clue what the guys are singing, but the song is infectious." "I've never heard it." "Then you have to listen to it to with me." "Okay. Let's go." That night, Katrina sat up in her bed, praying quietly, but intently. "Please, God. I beg you. Whatever happens between Cash and Ken in the future, please keep Cash's hands clean. I don't want them to be stained with Ken's blood. Please, Lord, keep Cash's hands, no, his soul, clean. Please!" Meanwhile, Ken was calculating his next move. "I think I'm going to need some help. But, who do I call? Who hates those rats as much as I do? I'd better start looking."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The next day, the chipmunks sat at the breakfast table, eating and preparing for the coming school day. Dave, meanwhile, was answering a phone call. Alvin watched Cash eat his breakfast, a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. He wanted to ask Cash about yesterday, but wondered if it was okay. Finally, his curiosity got the best of him. "Say, Cash?" 'Yeah, Al?" "Um, I know you'd probably rather forget about it, but, just what was yesterday all about?" "You mean with Ken?" 'Of course. Who was he and what was his problem?" "Well, technically, he was my nephew." "Your nephew?" Theodore asked. "Yeah, see, Agito, my first human father that I've already told you about, had two sons with his late wife well before I came along. They raised both of them to adulthood, like anyone would, and Agito taught them everything he knew about the way of the samurai, including how to wield a sword, so that they would be able to defend themselves if necessary. Agito knew what he did because he was professional swordsman. And yes, they do still exist. They put on shows showcasing and what not. Anyways, eventually, those sons of theirs met the girls that would become their wives, married them and had kids. One son had a daughter named Kimiko. That's my niece. She's going to marry Rai, who you met the day you met me. Now, Kimiko adored, and I'd assume still does adore, me. Ever since they found out I could talk and was made a member of the family, that's what Kimiko treated me as. One of the family. You know, really, even though we were technically uncle and niece, we acted more like close cousins, and some times, even like brother and sister. But, there's another side to that coin. And that's Ken. Agito's other son is his father. Now, both of Agito's sons had no problems with me. They were like Kimiko. When they came to visit, they treated me like a little brother. But, unlike his father or his uncle, or Kimiko, Ken hated me. He always did. From the minute he first saw me being nursed back to health by Agito, after that flood that took me away from you guys, he hated my guts." "Well, why? You were a baby when he first saw you. So, you couldn't have done anything to make him hate you." "It wasn't about anything that I did. His problem was with what I am. A chipmunk. Or, more technically, a rodent. Ken has a phobia of rodents. He believes the only good rodent is a dead one. The fact that his grandfather took one in and raised it as his son, plus the fact that I could talk, really bothered Ken. And man, what really sealed the deal was when Agito started training me in the way of the samurai. I guess that cemented my place in the family once and for all. And that really got to Ken. Because now, the thing he hated more than anything else in the world, was now a member of his family. And, over the years, he tired many times to get rid of me. I'd always find a way out of whatever trap he had set up. And maybe the fact that I continually outsmarted him also helped in the development of his hatred for me. Over the years, that hatred made him act more and more, well, crazy, when around me. And finally, when Agito died, I guess all that pent up hatred was finally released. I guess Ken knew that, so long as Agito was around, he'd never be able to really get at me. But, when he died, the floodgates of hatred in Ken's mind opened and sought the first, craziest, false reason to kill me." "His belief that you had everything to do with Agito's death, right?" Simon asked. "Yeah." "So, should we hire body guards or something?" Alvin asked. "No. I'll deal with him personally. After all, it really is my fight, so I should fight it." "If you do end up fighting him, is it gonna be to the death?" Theodore asked, fear evident in his voice. "In ken's mind, yes. In mine, no. To me, it'll be a fight to the moment I knock Ken out. If we ever do fight, that's what I'll seek to do. Knock him out. Then, I'll call and let the cops handle him. That's my plan. Don't worry, Theo. I don't have an ounce of bloodlust in me." "Well, that's good." "Well, enough talk about unpleasant things. Let's talk business. Guys, we need to figure out what were gonna sing in the first round of that competition." Cash said to his brothers. "Yeah, your right. Does anyone have any ideas?" Simon asked. "Well, we could do what the girls are doing. You know, sing one of our old hits." Theodore suggested. "Yeah, we could, but, there's a key word in there, Theo. And that is the word old. More than likely, a lot of people who come to the competition to see us will be fans of ours. And knowing our luck, they'll be the long time fans." Simon said. "Like Dr. Rubes." Alvin interrupted. "Yes, like Dr. Rubin. And, the problem there is, they've heard all of our old hits. Multiple times, in fact. They know the lyrics, they know the beats. Shoot, I bet if any of them had any musical talent, they could play them from memory themselves. The fact of the matter is, our fans, who'll definitely be giving us the majority of our support in the competition, know all of our old songs. And, no matter how much they love them, eventually they're going to get tired of them and start looking for something new." "And if we don't give it too them, then they won't support us." Cash said. "Man, he hasn't even played his first real concert yet, and he already gets it." Alvin said. "He's a fast learner. Unlike somebody I know." Simon said, glancing over at Alvin. 'Hey, when it comes to music, nobody learns faster than me." "Unfortunately, that's the only thing you learn quickly." 'Hey!" Simon ignored Alvin, and continued the conversation. "Anyway, your exactly right, Cash. In fact, that's really true of our music career as a whole. Everyone loves our old stuff, but want to know when something new is coming down the pipe. I guess that's true for every performer. Anyways, what we need to do is think of a song that we could do well. But, what?" "Hmm, well, let's see. I know you guys are good at singing your own versions of other performers' songs. And I know that people really like when you do that. So, let's draw inspiration from that. Whose songs have you done?" "Well, let's see. We've done Bon Jovi, Smash Mouth, The Black Eyed Peas.." Alvin began listing. "Wait, did you just that you've done some black eyed peas songs?" "Yeah, one. Why?" "Was it let's get it started?" "No." "Well, there you go. We can do Let's get it started." "Hey, not a bad idea, Cash. That's one of their most popular songs of all time. So, it's sure to get plenty of applause" Simon said. "Then it's settled. We're gonna sing let's get it started." Alvin said. Suddenly, Dave walked back in the kitchen. "Hey, guys. I just got off the phone with the people running that competition. They wanted to let you know that the first round is this Saturday at eight o'clock." "What? I thought the competition wasn't another week." Alvin said. "I guess they changed their plans for some reason." "Man, I hate it when this happens." Simon said. "You said that they said that the first round was at eight. Did they say whether that was in the morning or at night?" Cash asked. "At night." "Well, there you go, Sy. We've got till eight o'clock Saturday night to practice let's get it started." Yeah, great. We have two and three quarters days to master a song we've never sang before." "Well, it's a simple song. How long can it take? I say we start practicing now and make every second count." Meanwhile, Ian Hawke was walking down main street in downtown. He was doing some errands. All the while, he was mumbling to himself how he had to get the chipmunks to work for him in order to rebuild his life. "Arg! If only I could get my hands on those furry freaks! Ah! Stupid talking chipmunks!" While all the other people around Ian merely looked at him like he was crazy, One particular man nearby, who also hated the chipmunks, agreed with him. "Hey, do you hate the chipmunks?" He asked. "More than anything. They ruined my life, and I want revenge." "Well, then, I think I can help you. I have my own score with them. Or rather, one in particular." "Who? No, wait. Let me guess. Alvin, right?" "No. One of the new ones." "How does he know about them?" Ian wondered. "Which one?" "Cash. I got a major score to settle with that little freak. So, tell you what, if you help me take him out, then I'll get the rest of them for you." "This is too good to be true. You got yourself a deal. Put'er there, Mister…?" Ian asked, extending his hand. The man shook Ian's hand and said 'Ken. Ken Ikebana." "Well, Mr. Ikebana, I'm Ian Hawke. And together, we're going to be the chipmunks worst nightmare." "You've got that, right, Mr. Hawke. And, I've already got the first stages of a plan in mind. Come on, we're going to need to get some things." "Oh, this is going to be good."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Later that day, Ian and Ken were setting up they're new base of operations. It was in an abandon warehouse. "Yes, this'll work nicely. No one will bother us here, and everything we could possibly need is in walking distance." Ken said. "Yeah. And it's got an evil villain lair feel to it." Ian said, with some odd level of excitement in his voice. Ken merely rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's set up our things." he then said. "Right." The two men brought in they're various items. Food, clothes, air mattresses and the like. Once everything was set up, it looked something like a very messy fraternity dorm room, with Ken and Ian as room mates. "Now, what?" "Now, we eat." "Okay, I'll go get us something. I saw a burger place down the street, so I'll go there. Want anything in particular?" "No. Just a burger, some fries, and a chocolate milkshake." "Got it. Be back in a minute." Once Ian was gone, Ken was left to talk to himself. 'That Ian's obviously a complete idiot. But, even idiots have their uses. And speaking of uses, it's time to fine tune all of my ideas into an ingenious plan." Ian soon returned. "Here." Ian said, handing Ken his food. 'Thank you." Ken said, never looking away from the laptop he was currently using. 'What are you doing?" Ian asked. "I'm looking for any and all information on the chipmunks. I'm trying to see if I can find any weaknesses that they that we can exploit." "Well, if you wanted to know about the munks, all you had to do was ask." "You know all about them?" "Yeah. They did live in my mansion for a while. Of course, that was back when I was still a record company executive and they hadn't ruined my life. Anyways, what do you want to know?" "Well, let's start with their personalities." "Alright." Ian explained all he knew about the chipmunks. Once he got finished Explaining Alvin and his ego, Ken told Ian to stop. "I think that's something we can use." "You mean Alvin's ego?" "Yes." "How?" "We'll manipulate it, in order to cause dissention among their ranks." "Um, come again?" "Basically, we mess with Alvin's ego, until he turns on the others. Or, at least, Cash." "Why Cash?" Ken explained to Ian about his and Cash's past, and about Cash's skills. He even told him about what had happened at the Seville house yesterday. "Whoa. Do you really think he could do that?" "Yes, unfortunately. It pains me to admit it, but I don't doubt that he could. But, Cash isn't our only issue. The others all seem to like him and, if you and I were to try to take him out before capturing the others or otherwise making them unable to help him, I don't doubt that they would fight alongside Cash. And, with all their combined strength and cunning, I think that they might actually have what it takes to stop us. But, if we cause them to be at odds with each other before we do anything else…" 'Then all the power they'd get from working together goes out the window." "Now your catching on. Now, then. I need you to start monitoring Alvin, under the cover of that janitor job at their school that you mentioned. Look for anything that we could use to manipulate Alvin's ego." "Like, say, one of the others showing him up? I know he hates it when that happens." "Precisely. If we could 'attack' him at moments like that, we could begin the manipulation process. Essentially, we would plant a 'seed' of resentment in Alvin, and then do whatever else necessary to make it grow stronger, until it eventually would take over Alvin's actions and, hopefully, divide the munks. Then, it's just matter of deciding what to do first. Take Cash out, or capture the other munks? Personally, I vote for taking out of the picture, permanently." "Well, you know my position. And, if you think about it, we should take care of my wants first. Cause, think about it. Even if we divide the chipmunks up, some of them are still bound to be loyal to Cash and come to help him out." 'Hmm, yes. Your right. Your smarter than you look, Ian." "Uh, thanks." "What? Does he think I'm an idiot or something?" Ian wondered to himself. "Very well, Ian. Once our plan has come to fruition, we'll do what you want first. You'll have the seven of those freaks for you to force into rebuilding your life." "Great, thanks." "But, a word of caution. I'm giving you your warning now. Don't you dare try to betray me and try to take Cash along with the other seven. Cash is mine. If you try to take my revenge away from me, I will destroy you." "N-no worries, Ken. I may like to manipulate people for my own ends, but, I'd never betray my real friends. Okay, b-buddy?" "Alright. But, to be sure, you'd best remember what I said." 'Hey, lucky number seven. Works for me.' Ken nodded. "Now, then. You'd better either go to 'work' at the school, or call in sick. Lest anyone get suspicious." "Uh, right. Um, what are you going to do?" "Me? I'm going to begin building the trap we'll use to capture the chipmunks." "Alright. See you later." Ian walked off thinking 'that ken is one scary dude. But, even so, at the end of this, I'm coming out on top, with all eight munks, and I'll leave Ken holding the bag. I will find a way to do it. I have to." Meanwhile, the munks were at school, enjoying their lunch. "Man, why can't this be a class? I'd get straight A's." Theodore said. The other munks laughed at this. "Yo, Cash!" Cash heard, Cash whipped around to see Jason coming towards him. "Oh, hey, Jason. What's up?" "I've come for your answer about joining the team. You saw how we operate. So, what do you say?" "Well, honestly, Jay, I just don't see how I could help. I mean, look at me. I obviously couldn't the kick the ball down the field very far. And soccer is all about getting the ball as far down the field as possible with each kick or pass, before trying for a goal. So, I'm not much good there. And, there's another thing. While everyone's playing, their watching the ball, and not much else. Which means that nobody is watching their shoes. And that could lead to problems for me. You see, I really don't want to personally experience what happens when soccer shoes land on a chipmunk's back." "Don't worry, Cash. I've already got something in mind. It's actually built around the same idea that the football team used with Alvin at that one game." "Oh, I know what he's talking about. See, Cash, the idea was that secretly grab hold of the football and hang on during the snap. Then, quarterback would throw it as hard as he could. If and when the ball hit the end zone, I'd reveal myself, and since I was holding the ball in the end zone, that qualified as a touch down."" "Exactly, Alvin. I was at that game. The other players used you to modify a play. That's the idea. And, I think I've got our version of that idea worked out. Basically, we use Tony, one of our players who can actually do a move similar to what you did with that rock yesterday, Cash, to get the ball into the air. We've used that move of his before, and it usually catches the opposing team off guard. But, since we've used it before, the other teams know that we have it in our arsenal. So, now, they have their goalies be somehow prepared for it. If they have prepared, they've probably trained to become faster, so they can catch such a wicked fast shot. But, that's where Cash comes in. What we'll do, is have Cash actually start running in the direction that the ball will be headed before Tony does his shot. Eventually, Cash and the ball will be right on top of each other, so to speak. At that moment, you, cash, will jump up and apply your own kick, at full force of course, to the ball. That should double it's speed, and make it nearly impossible for any opposing goalie to catch it." Cash looked to Simon. "Simon, you can figure out variables in things better than anyone else I know. So, tell me, will that plan work?" "Yes, I think it will." Simon said. "One of Newton's laws states that an object in motion, stays in motion, unless acted upon by an equal and opposite force. But, if you apply more of the same force to the object that got it moving in the first place, it's rate of movement will increase, and thus the opposite force's strength must increase in order to still be able to stop it. And, if it doesn't, then the opposite force can't stop the object.. In other words, as long as you can pull the move off, and your not up against some insanely fast goalie, what you want to happen is exactly what will happen." "See? If the smart one says it's gonna work, it's gonna work. And, you wouldn't have to play much more than that. You'd be our secret weapon. Our game changer or, if we like showing off a bit just before we win, our grand finish. You'd live the good life on the team. And, all of the guys on the team are cool with that. They won't think your lazy or anything like that. So, what do you say?" "Well, as long as the plan will work, I guess I'm in." "Great. I'll let the guys know." "Hey, Jay?" Alvin asked. "Yeah, Alvin?" "Are those spots you talked about being good for me still open? Cause, if they are, I'd like to join the team too." "Oh, yeah. About that. I got so wrapped in trying to recruit Cash that I forgot to tell you, Alvin. Those spots, they're filled again." 'What?" "Well, I had two spots available. See, one of our players was out with some kind of virus. They didn't know how long it would take him to recover. I heard that the doctors said it could've been anywhere between a few days and a month. And, not to sound unsympathetic but, a month's too long to go short handed. So, I told him I'd wait it out as long as I could, but, I couldn't promise that I wouldn't replace him if I had too. And, he said he understood that and told me that, if I had to replace him, go ahead. Fortunately, though, his immune system proved to be tougher than the doctors thought, and he's able to play again. So, that spot went out. And as for, the other spot, well, it was looking like one of our guys was going to have to move, cause of his dad's job. But, in the end, it turned out that his dad was staying right where he was. So, he could still play and I wouldn't have to replace him. So, I'm sorry to tell you this Alvin, but, looks like fate's against you. But, I hate to disappoint people, so, let me think. Maybe I can come up with something for you to do, so you can join the team too. Um….Oh! Duh! I can't believe I forgot that. Here's the deal. We have to have a max of eleven players on our team, but we are allowed to have up to three substitutes. So, really, our grand total is fourteen players. Now, Cash is going to be one of subs. So, if you want, Alvin, you can be one of the others." "Sure. And, so you know, I can jump just about as high as Cash can, and I can probably kick just as hard. So I can do that move too." "Well, then that means that we have two secret weapons." "Technically, since they'd be performing the same maneuver, it wouldn't be more apt to say that you have one secret weapon with two sides, or something like that?" Simon asked. Jason didn't pay attention to Simon. He was too busy imagining the possibilities that having a secret weapon could pose. "'sigh' Once again, I get ignored. Seems like everyone does that." 'Well, I pay attention to you, Simon." Jeanette said. "Yeah, but, it seems like your only one, Jean. Eh, oh well. I guess that's part of high school life, right? The jocks don't listen to the brainy people." "Yeah, I guess. But, luckily, other brainy people will listen to brainy people. In other words, any time you wanna talk, Simon, I'm all ears." "Thanks, Jeanette." "Okay, guys. I gotta talk to the team. I'll see you at practice tomorrow." "Okay. Later, Jay."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next day, the chipmunks and chipettes rushed into Julie's room after school. Once there, they practiced as hard as the could. With the opening round of the competition tomorrow, they needed to sure up every bit of their performances. Julie watched and marveled at how both groups seemed to be balancing seriousness and fun. She knew they needed to be serious about this, and put on serious performances. After all, they were in it for the school's sake. But, even so, they still seemed to be having fun with it. "How do we sound, Julie?" Eleanor asked. "You guys sound great. But, you know what impresses me most about how you guys are going about doing this?" 'No, what?" "The obvious fact that you haven't forgotten to have fun, and probably never will. See, in situations like these, it's easy to let yourself get swallowed up in all the hustle and forget to have fun. And, that's the biggest mistake people make in this kind of situation. Once they forget to have fun with it, it just becomes a chore and does nothing but wear the people down the further along they go. And, if that keeps up long enough, the people will become tired and probably start to care less and less about the competition. And, if they stop caring altogether, then whatever they're 'fighting' for is obviously going to suffer. But, you guys, in my opinion, you are the true definition of the word performers. True performers do what they do for the amusement of others, but they also do it for they're own fun's sake. They start out doing what they do because they enjoy it, and then later on, they get lucky when they figure out how to use their talents to entertain others and get paid for it. But, no matter how far into the world of showbiz they get, true performers never forget their roots and can usually be found at home, singing to themselves for the sake of their own enjoyment. And, I just know that you guys do that. Am I right?" "Well, yeah. We do that quite often. All of us do." Simon said. The other munks nodded. "Well, there you have it. You guys are true performers, and you know what, I think that fact will be what gets you guys the win. Because, true performers have heart, and you need heart to win any competition. You guys got heart, so I'm sure you'll win." "Not sure if I really got all of that, but, thanks any way Julie." Alvin said. Julie nodded. She then looked at the clock. 'Oh, man. I gotta get outta here. I promised Toby I'd meet with him today after school." "Just call it what is, Julie. A date." Brittany said. "Well, we are going to get dinner, and spend some good quality time together. So, I guess it is a date. Hmph, you know, this who'll time, neither Toby or myself have called what we're doing 'dating'." "But, you are." Eleanor said. "Yeah, and feels good. Well, if I'm going to be a girlfriend to Toby, I gotta get a move on. So, come on. Everybody out. Gotta lock up." "Right, let's go guys." Alvin said. Cash looked up at the clock. 'Oh, crap! Alvin!" "What?" "We gotta go." "I know that. We gotta go so Julie can lock up." "No, I mean you and me. Remember, soccer practice?" "Oh, crap! Your right. I got so wrapped up in this practice that I forgot about our other. Come on, let's go!" "Hey, wait, a minute, guys. What about us?" Theodore asked. 'You guys go out to the car and wait with Dave." Alvin said. "Just sit out there and wait for you to come out? Well, that sounds, boring." Brittany said. 'Well, why don't you go see if Dave will come in and then you can come watch us? At least then you'd get to see some cool soccer moves, and watching that should be a lot better than just sitting out in the car." Cash said. 'That's true. Alright, we'll go get, Dave. Now, get moving guys." Eleanor said. 'Right. Come on, Cash. I'll race you!" 'Your on!" The young munk took off, while the rest of their family headed for the car. Cash and Alvin zoomed through the halls, headed for the practice field in the back part of the school. The race was very close most of the way. However, once they reached the field, Alvin jumped and slid down the hand rail of the stairs that lead down from the school to field. This gained him the extra momentum he needed to reach the field first and win the race. However, when he landed, his right foot went sideways, causing his ankle to lock up in pain. "Ah!" Alvin cried. He then looked up at Cash. "Ha, I win. Ow." "Are you okay?" Cash asked. "Yeah. I guess I landed wrong after that jump. Must've tweaked my ankle. It's okay, though. I can still move it and put weight on it, so that must mean that it's not sprained or broken. It'll probably fix itself before practice is over." "I hope so. Okay, now, where's jay?" "Over there.' Alvin pointed out Jason on the field. "Where's everybody else? Dave always parks in the same spot, so it's not a long walk to the car. And it's not a long walk to back here either. So, where are they?" Cash looked up the stairs. 'Oh, I see them. Here they come now. Wave." Alvin and Cash waved at their family, who waved back. "Show'em how it's done, Alvy!" Brittany yelled. Alvin gave Brittany the thumbs up. "Let's go!" "Right." Alvin and Cash raced over to Jason. "Jason!" Cash yelled. 'Oh, there you guys are. What kept you?" "Singing practice ran a little long today. Sorry about that." "No, it's okay. Your not that late. Okay, are you ready?" "For sure!" Alvin called. Jason looked at Alvin. He noticed that he seemed to be favoring his right ankle. "Alvin, are you okay?" "Huh? Oh, yeah." "you sure? Cause you look like something's hurting you, and I can't have one of our team's secret weapons being injured." "Don't worry, jay. It's nothing. I just tweaked my ankle a little. It's not that bad. In fact, it's already starting to feel better. Now, let's do this." 'Well, okay. By the way, coach Ortiz has already asked his wife, Sarah, to make you your uniforms and she said she'll do it." "Well, that's nice of her." Cash said. "Well, she's a nice lady. And she loves to knit. In fact, Coach said that she considers trying to make your guys' uniforms a challenge." "A challenge?" Alvin asked. 'Yeah. Coach said that his wife said that when your trying to make such a small version of something, it's the details that make it or break it. And, when your working so small, she said, it's hard to get the details just right. So, it's a challenge, and she enjoys that." "Well, everybody has something." Cash said. "Yeah. And right now, our something is practice. Let's go guys. Tony! Get ready!" "Right, Jay!" Minutes later, the entire team was yelling their heads off in excitement, for Cash had just pulled off the maneuver like an expert and it had slammed into the net with enough force to pushing the netting back at least a foot. "Did you see that? The net must've stretched back at least a foot! I've never seen it go back that far!" One team member yelled. "Yes! Now that's what I was hoping for!" Jason yelled. 'Okay, let's do it one more time! Alvin, your on!" "Right!" Alvin performed the maneuver as well, but the foot he kicked with happened to be his right one. His tweaked ankle prevented him from generating the same force as Cash did. When the ball hit the net, it only pushed the net back half a foot. "Hmm, that was pretty good. Not as much power as Cash's, but then again, your ankle's messed up. Hmm… maybe you better not continue practice for today, Alvin. Don't want you to sprain or break your ankle." "'sigh' Fine." Alvin wandered over to a nearby bench and sat down. "Stupid ankle." he said. As Alvin watched Cash continue to practice the shot, he grew increasingly resentful of his black clad brother. "Man, is trying to make me look bad? He knows my ankle is bad right now, so can't he tone it back a bit? Make me look better? I'd do it for him, so why won't he be a good brother and do it for me?" At this moment, Ian, who was in a janitor's disguise and had been cleaning the bleachers of all trash this whole time, over heard Alvin's complaints. "Hey, that's sounds like a perfect 'seed planting' moment to me. Better take advantage." He thought. Ian disguised his voice as best he could and said 'maybe he doesn't want to." "What did you say?" Alvin asked. 'I said, maybe he doesn't want to tone back his shot." "Wait, you were listening to me?" 'Well, considering that I'm standing right here, it's hard not to." "Yeah, I guess." "Man, this reminds me of the time I was on my high school basketball team with my twin brother. Him and I both had great hook shots. We always made'em, from anywhere on the court. That is, till one day, I fell down the stairs at home and hurt my shooting arm. After that, his hook shot became better than mine. Next time we had practice, the coach got mad at somebody who'd messed up a hook shot and told me to show him how it was done. I tried, but my messed up arm just wouldn't let me do it right. My shot sucked and the coach got mad at me and wouldn't listen to my excuse. Then, he called for my brother to do it. And he did. But, then he decided to show off and did it six more times in a row. The coach praised him and told him he'd be in the starting line up for the next game. I later asked my brother what that was all about, and he said 'Sorry, bro. I couldn't help myself." That attention starved, grr… Listen kid. In the world of sports, you can't trust even your family. Cause they want their piece of pie, and they ain't concerned about you getting yours." "Well, Cash is a good guy. I'm sure he's not trying to show me up on purpose." Alvin said, trying to honor his promise to Brittany. "I wouldn't be too sure kid. I'd keep my eye on him if I was you." Suddenly, a look of concern came across Alvin's face. 'Yes, the seed's been planted. Mission accomplished." "Well, I gotta go. See you around kid." As Ian left, Brittany came down to sit with Alvin. "Hey, Alvy.' "Oh, hey, Britt." "You okay. No. I tweaked my ankle while I was racing Cash down here and then I couldn't do that move as well as Cash did." Alvin said, pointing to his ankle. "I saw that, but, I didn't understand why. You poor thing. Want me to kiss it and make it better?" "What are you, my mom?" "No, I thought I was your girlfriend. And, aren't girlfriend kisses just as sweet as moms'?" "I wouldn't know. My parents were hippies. They left us early to join the commune." "Oh, I see. Well, anyway, I want you to feel better, so here." Brittany leaned down and kissed Alvin's ankle as sweetly as she could. 'There. Better?" "Now that you mention it, yeah. Thanks, Britt." "No problem. So, what were you and that janitor guy talking about?" "Oh, uh, he was just asking me who I thought I was gonna win on America's got talent. He said, since he knew I was a singer, he wanted to get a professional's opinion." "Oh, I see." Suddenly, the two young munks heard Jason yell. "Okay, guys! That's enough for today. Good work." Cash came running over to Alvin. "Hey, Al. How's your ankle?" "Better." "That's good. Alright, let's get out of here." Once at home, Dave presented the munks with a letter. "What's this, Dave?" Simon asked. "Just something we've all been waiting anxiously for." "You mean?" Eleanor cried. Dave nodded. "Open it, Sy!" Theodore cried. Just then, Alvin wandered off. "Alvin, where are you going?" "My stupid ankle's hurting again. I'm gonna go lay down." "But this is…" "Just tell me later. And don't wake me for a while." "Well, okay. Alright, here we go." Simon opened the letter and read the results. 'In the case of Katrina Seville, tests have shown that she is a genetic match to Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor Seville. Thus, it is concluded that all four girls are sisters." The girls all grabbed each other and danced around happily. "I knew it! I knew it!" Eleanor yelled. "Congrats, girls. Okay, now let's see what it says for Cash. Ahem. In the case of Cassius Seville, tests have shown that he is a percent genetic match to Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Seville. Thus, it is concluded that all four boys are brothers." "Yes!" Theodore yelled. "This is great! We should tell Alvin!" "He said he doesn't want to be bothered right now, Theodore. He's hurting right now, so let him rest. We can tell him later." Cash said. "Okay." Meanwhile, Alvin laid in his bed, half asleep, oblivious to everything but his own thoughts. "What that guy said about Cash isn't true…right?"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The next night, the time had finally come. The chipmunks and chipettes loaded into the car and headed off to where the competition was to be held. After signing in and listening to the MC open the competition, they went to see when they were set to perform. "Oh, crud." Theodore said. "What's up, Theo?" Cash asked. "The girls are on before us." "So?" Alvin asked. "Well, think about it, Alvin. Fergie's a major part of the black eyed peas, and the song we're gonna sing. What do you think people who are fans of the band would think if the Will. I. Am and the others got up there and sang that song but, instead of Fergie, they had another guy up there with them?" "Well, most of them would probably get upset about not seeing Fergie. But, I see where your going with this. Those guys that could get past not seeing Fergie perform, would probably be thinking that no guy could sing that sing Fergie's parts of the song. And they'd probably say something like 'if they can't have Fergie, they should at least get some other really good girl singer'." "Exactly. Cause that's the formula that works. Three guys and one girl." "Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, when Fergie went temporarily solo, didn't the black eyed peas stop singing every song that Fergie was a major part of?" Cash asked. "Yeah. I guess they knew the formula too." Simon said. "Right, well, if we get out there and sing it, with the four of us, what'll the fans of the song in the crowd think?" Theodore asked. "They'd probably think that we should've had one of the girls sing it with us." Alvin said. "Exactly. But, if they go on before us, they'll be too tired to sing and dance with us." "Don't worry, Theo. Look. Diamond dolls is a great song, but it's not as vocally demanding as some of the songs we've sang. And, besides that, look here. There's three acts in between our performance and yours. The time it'll take for those three acts to do their things will be more than enough to give us time to rest up. And then, one of us can go out there with you guys." Brittany said. "Oh, well, okay. Sorry wasting everyone's time. I was just trying to look out for you girls." "And we love you for that, Theodore." The munks then proceeded to watch all the acts that were on for the girls. When it came time for them to perform, the chipettes stood by the curtain, ready to go out. Katrina, however, was hyperventilating. "Nervous?" Brittany asked. Katrina nodded. "There's a lot more people here than when Cash and I sang in front of the music class." "Yeah, but, other than that, not much else is different. And hey, bigger crowds mean louder applause when your done. And you like applause, don't you?" "Well, yeah." "Then, while you may be afraid of them now, your gonna love this crowd when we're done, trust me." Katrina nodded. "And don't worry, Kate. You'll have us, your sisters, out there with you." Eleanor said. Katrina nodded again. " 'sigh' You know, this song is bittersweet for me." "Why's that?" Jeanette asked. "Because, while I only sang the chorus, this song was the last thing I ever sang to Macy." "Oh, Katrina. Why didn't you tell us? We would've picked something else." Jeanette said. "I didn't want to bother you." "Kate, you may have been raised an only child, but, your part of a sisterhood now. Your part of a family. You've got to learn that, your problems, are our problems. You not telling us, at least not until the last minute, worries us more than if you just told us right from the start. You've got to trust us with your problems." Eleanor said. "It's not that I didn't trust you. It's just that, we were so busy practicing, trying to take advantage of every second, that I didn't want to take up anyone's valuable time." "Hey, didn't Ely just tell you that your part of a sisterhood now?" Brittany called, clearly agitated. "Yeah." "Then get what that means into your skull already. It means that we'll always be there for you. No matter how busy we get, at least one of us will always be ready to talk with you. If I don't have the time, Jean and Ely probably will. But, I swear on my honor as a chipmunk performer, that I will always try to make time." "Me too." Eleanor said. "Here, here." Jeanette said. "I see. I'm sorry girls. 'sniff' I love you, girls." "We love you too. Now, since I'm sure that Macy is up there watching and has only heard the chorus, let's get out there and sing the whole song for her." Eleanor said. Katrina cleared here tearing eyes and put on a confident face. "Okay. Deep breaths. Don't die. Okay, let's go!" The chipettes ran out on stage just as the MC introduced them. "We don't have to do what you tell us to do no more. You get what you need and you don't want it anymore. We don't cry now. We don't know how. We heard what you said and we don't believe a word you say. The hill is a high one, but we'll climb it anyway. There's no doubt. You'll find out. We're the ones on the run. We're the girls, we're the diamond dolls (diamond dolls).It's a ravenous world and the ceiling is very tall(do do do do do do do). There's a weight and a climb and a ladder and many fall(Diamond dolls). But the cream of crop never stops! We're the diamond dolls! A girl shouldn't sit in the corner and wait for life. Some girls like to go out looking for Paradise. You'll find out...you had it anyway. Don't look down...No matter what they say. You do what you do and you try not to break the law. A girl hits her mark when she don't look ahead to far. There's no doubt...your gonna get it all. You'll find out...everything you want. Give a hand to the girls who go after the diamond dolls(Diamond dolls). It's a ravenous world and the ceiling is very tall(do do do do do do do). There's a river that curls to the sea and its very long(Diamond dolls).But the cream of the crop, never stop. Not the diamond dolls. Silver, platinum, I pass on them. You can have them, I know what I want. We're the ones on the run. We're the girls with the diamond dolls (diamond dolls).It's a ravenous world and the ceiling is very tall(do do do do do do do). There's a weight and a climb and a ladder and many fall(Diamond dolls). But the cream of crop, never stop. Not the diamond dolls!" The chipettes finished to the sound of a roar of applause coming from the audience. Katrina was grinning ear to ear. Brittany noticed and, as they took their final bow, she said to her 'see? I told you.' Katrina merely smiled more. They then went back to wait with chipmunks. The girls rested and the time came. Katrina told the stage hand that she would be pulling double duty tonight and so the stage hand called the MC over. Everyone agreed that what Katrina wanted to do wasn't against the rules and so the MC said he'd be sure to let the crowd know. "You girls don't mind me going out with them, do you?" Katrina asked. "Nope. Knock yourself out." Brittany said. Katrina nodded and rushed onto the stage with the munks. "I'm tell ya, girls. That girl's gonna far in this business, cause now she's addicted to the applause." Brittany joked to her sisters. Meanwhile, Katrina was starting the song. "Let's get it started in here…" Then Simon and Theodore came in. "And the bass keeps runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin' and…" Finally, Alvin chimed in. "In this context, there's no disrespect. So when I bust my rhyme, you break your necks. We got 5 minutes for us to disconnect. From all intellect and let the rhythm effect. To lose this inhibition. Follow your intuition. Free your inner soul. And break away from tradition.'Cause when we be out. Girl it's gonna be that. You wouldn't believe how we wow out. Burn it till it's burned out. Turn it till it's turned out. Actin' up from north, west, east, south." Finally, all the munks on stage sang the chorus. "Everybody(Yeah). Everybody(Yeah).Let's get into it(Yeah).Get stupid(C'mon).Get it started(C'mon).Get it started(Yeah).Get it started. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in 's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here, yeah!" then Cash sang the second verse. "Lose control, all body, all soul. Don't move too fast, people just take it slow. Don't get ahead, just jump into it. Y'all hear about it, the munks'll do it. Get it started, get stupid. Don't worry 'bout it people we'll walk you through it. Step by step, like the infant new kid. Inch by inch, with the new solution. Transmit hits, with no delusion. The feeling's irresistible and that's how we move it, yo." Everyone came in again. "Everybody(Yeah).Everybody(Yeah).Let's get into it(Yeah).Get stupid(C'mon).Get it started(C'mon).

Get it started(Yeah).Get it started. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, hah! Let's get it started in here, yeah." Then Simon and Theodore sang their part again, then everyone came in again. "Let's get cuckoo!(Uh huh)Let's get cuckoo!(In here)Why not get cuckoo!(Uh huh)Let's get cuckoo!(In here)Why not get cuckoo!(Uh huh)Let's get cuckoo!(In here)Oh oh oh, Ya ya ya!" Alvin sang by himself again. "Let's get ill, that's the deal. At the gate, and we'll bring the top drill. Just lose your mind, this is the time. Y'all guessed this drill just to bang your spine! Just bob your head like me Alviny. Up inside your club, or in your Bentley. Get messy, loud and sick. Y'all mind fast, no mo than another head trip. So come them now do not correct it. Let's get ign'ant, let's get hectic." Simon and Theodore repeated their part once more. Then everyone sang the finish to the song. "Cuckoo!(Uh huh)We cuckoo!(In here)Let's get cuckoo!(Uh huh)We cuckoo!(In here)Why not get cuckoo!(Uh huh)We cuckoo!(In here)Oh oh oh, Ya ya ya! Runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'. And runnin' runnin'.And runnin' runnin'." Once they finished, they bowed and left the stage. Later on, the chipmunks and chipettes found out that they were among the acts that had moved on to the next round. As they were leaving the contest site, they were approached by Dr. Ruben. "I saw everything. You guys did great." 'Well, naturally." Alvin said. "When did you get here, Dr. Ruben?" Simon asked. "I was here from the beginning. But, I was near the middle of the crowd, instead of right up front like I wanted to be. But, I was still here. Seriously, did you think I wouldn't be?" "She's got you there, Simon." Alvin said. "Well, we have church tomorrow, Dr. Ruben. So, I'd best get everyone and home and in bed early." "Yes, of course. Goodnight." That night, Cash and Katrina were still too wound up to go to sleep. So, they sat together in the window sill, looking out the window at what ever was going on outside. Katrina looked up to the sky, hoping to see some stars. However, it was very cloudy outside. "Darn. It'd be nice to see some stars, especially a shooting one." She said. "Well, there's a lot of airplanes up there. So, let's do what that song says and pretend that the lights on the airplanes are shooting stars." "Isn't that song supposed to be on the latest twilight movie's soundtrack?" "I guess so. I haven't seen the movie. I heard the song on the radio though. Sounded pretty good. But, any ways, what are you waiting for? Those airplane lights are shooting stars now, so make a wish." "Well, okay. Today I was reminded about what my family is all about. So I wish that things will stay the way they are and that nothing will tear us apart. That's my wish." "Sounds good to me."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The next Monday at school, the chipmunks and chipettes met with Dr. Ruben in her office during lunch. She had told this morning that she was going to go get them their lunch, as a way to celebrate getting through the first round. Simon thought that it was a bit too early to celebrate anything, so Dr. Ruben changed the reason to celebrating Cash and Katrina having very successful, official premieres as members of the chipmunks and chipettes. Simon, naturally, happily agreed to this. And so, the munks found themselves in their principal's office, eating burgers and drinking milkshakes, all custom ordered. Dr. Ruben raised her cup. "A toast." She said. "To the, dare I say, flawless world premieres of Cash and Katrina and, if I may be so bold, to the inevitable victory of the chipmunks or chipettes!" "Well, while I still think it's a bit premature to declare our victory, since both groups are competing for the same purpose, wouldn't it be more accurate to propose a toast to the inevitable victory of West Eastman?" Simon asked. "Good point, Simon. Okay then. To the successful premieres of Cash and Katrina and the inevitable victory of West Eastman! Cheers!" "Cheers!" The munks shouted as everyone banged their cups together. "So, do you know when the next round will be?" Dr. Ruben asked. "Didn't you hear the MC say it?" Alvin asked. 'Well, admittedly, I was in the bathroom at the time. I spilled the soda I had on my shirt and so I rushed to the bathroom to wash it before it set in and stained." " I see. Huh. Never picked you to be one of those people who nit pick about stains, Dr. Rubes." Alvin said. "Well, it was a pretty big spill, so it would have left a big stain. But, besides that, I'm the one who does the laundry at my house. That's my job." "You job?" Eleanor asked. "Yeah, my job. See, we divide all the big chores up amongst the people who live there. I do the laundry, my husband does dishes, and our son takes out the trash." "Who mows the lawn?" Jeanette asked. "We alternate on that one. Let's see, it was my turn last time, so it's my son's turn this time." "I see." "What about at your house?" Dr. Ruben asked. "Who does what?" "Well, we're too small to do the big jobs, like mowing the lawn or something like that. So, mostly, we gather up all the trash so Dave can take it out and help with the dishes. Oh, and we make our own beds and maintain our rooms. Well, most of us do." Simon said, looking at Alvin. "Hey, what are you looking at me for? I made my bed." "Yeah, three weeks ago. The rest of us do it everyday." "Actually, Simon, I haven't made my bed since I got here." Cash said. "Me neither." Katrina said. "But, will you?" "Sure." Katrina said. "Eventually." Cash said. "I mean, it's not really messy, so there's no real need to fuss over it. Maybe straighten out the covers a bit, but not much else other than that." "See, that's exactly how I look at it. If it's not really messed up, there's no need to worry about it." Alvin said. "It seems that the similarities between Cash and Alvin run deeper than just their appearances." Jeanette said. "Tell me about it." Eleanor said. "Still, that's probably a good thing. It means that it should be easier for them to get along. Right, Alvy?" Brittany asked. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." "um…" Dr. Ruben said. "What is it, Doc?" Alvin asked. "um, Brittany…" "Yes?" "Alvy?" "Oh, yeah. About that. You see, Alvin and I took your advice. Now, I'm not afraid to say it. I love Alvin." "Oh, that's so sweet. And, Alvin, how do you feel about, Brittany?" "The same." "So your officially a couple. This is great." While Dr. Ruben congratulated Alvin and Brittany, Katrina stealthily prodded Cash with her elbow. "That's two." She said to him quietly when he looked at her. "I know. One more to go." Cash said quietly, while glancing at Theodore and Eleanor. He then turned to Jeanette and Simon. "Hey, Sy. Anything you and Jean want to say to Dr. Ruben?" "Oh, yes. Dr. Ruben, this should make you even happier than you already are. You see, Jeanette and I are a couple now as well." "Oh, really? Well, this calls for another toast, I'd say. To the three young couples. Cheers!" And so Dr. Ruben and the munks toasted again. " Oh, I love doing that." Brittany said. "Me too." Dr. Ruben said. The two bumped their cups together again, just for the fun of it. After this, Dr. Ruben remembered something. So, she put on a straight face and looked at Cash and Alvin. 'Okay, putting fun aside for a moment, I need to speak to Cash and Alvin." "Okay. Sup, doc?" Alvin asked. "Well, since I know that your members of the school soccer team now, I was wondering if your going to play in the game this weekend." "Wait, there's a game this weekend?" Cash asked. "You mean, you didn't know? The captain didn't tell you?" "No, Jason hasn't said a word to us." Alvin said. "Hm, well, maybe he simply forgot. Well, anyway, now you know. You can talk to Jason later if you want more information." "Okay, we will. Thanks, Doc." Cash said. "No problem. Now, come on everyone. Eat up. Lunch is almost over." "Right!" The munks yelled. After school, Alvin and Cash raced to the practice field, while the others went to get Dave again. This time, Cash was the winner of the race, because Alvin did not try the same rail slide maneuver he had tried before. He was afraid to, after what had happened to his ankle the last time. When Cash won the race, Alvin was expecting him to gloat, like he had done. However, Cash had other, more important things on his mind. Like talking to Jason about the upcoming game. "Jason!" Cash yelled. "Oh, hey, guys." "Jason, why didn't you didn't tell us about the game this weekend?" Jason slapped his forehead. "I knew I was forgetting to tell you guys something last Friday, but I couldn't remember what. Man, I'm sorry, guys. I forgot." "It's okay, you've got to think about. You're the captain after all. So, it's easy for stuff to slip your mind. But, try to let us know from now on." Cash said. "I promise I won't forget again. But, um, how'd you guys find out about the game?" "Dr. Rubes told us." Alvin said. "Dr. Rubin?" "Yeah, we were talking to her earlier and it just came up." "I see. Well, good. Thank you, Dr. Rubin. Now then, it's time for you guys to suit up." "Suit up? How? We don't have uniforms, remember?" Alvin asked. "Oh yes you do. Follow me." Jason lead Cash and Alvin to Coach Ortiz's office inside the nearby gym. There, the three boys found the coach waiting. 'Coach, I brought them like you told me to." "Good. I'll take it from here. You go back to practice." "Yes sir." Jason then left. 'well, I guess introductions are in order. Hello, I'm Jerry Ortiz. I'm your coach." "Nice to meet you, Coach. I'm Cash." "And I'm Alvin.' Coach Ortiz nodded. "Well, let's get down to business. I trust Jason told you that my wife Sarah made your uniforms herself." "Yeah, he did." Alvin said. "Well, she finished them yesterday evening. Here you go." Coach Ortiz opened a nearby bag and pulled out two small soccer uniforms, then handed them to Cash and Alvin. Alvin immediately noticed that his signature a was sewn onto the back, just like his old football uniform. "Huh, this design reminds me of my old football uniform. Um, your wife didn't go to the one game I played in, did she, Coach?" "No." 'So she didn't draw inspiration for this design from seeing that uniform." "Nope. She drew inspiration from the fact that in every picture she's ever seen of you, she's seen you with some sort of A design on your clothes. So, she figured that your uniform should match up with the rest of your clothes." "Oh, okay." "Look, Alvin. I know your time with the football team didn't well." "How'd you know that? You don't coach that." "No, but the man who does is a good friend of mine and we talk about our respective teams all the time. Look, I know your football career didn't end well, but this isn't football. Well, at least here in America it isn't football. This is whole other game, and that means your sports career gets a blank slate. Make the most it." "Oh, believe me, I will." "Good. Alright then, boys. Go get changed and get out there. Remember, we've got a game this weekend." "yes sir! Come on, Al. Let's go!" "Right!" 'Oh, wait a second. I just remember something." Coach Ortiz called. 'What is it, Coach?" Alvin asked. Coach Ortiz pulled a card out from under the calendar on his desk. "I should have left this in the bag with the uniforms. Oh well, no harm done. Here, Cash. This is for you." Coach Ortiz handed Cash the card. "What is it?" "It's a sympathy card. Jason told me how you talked about how you lost your father and how your girlfriend lost her mother. So, later on, when I was talking to my wife about making your uniforms, I brought that up. Sarah then said that she thought it'd be a good idea to get a sympathy card for you two. So here. I know it's a little late but, it still carries our deepest sympathies." "Thanks, Coach. But, I don't really have a place to put this. But, by now I think that the rest of our family should be in the bleachers, waiting to watch us. Katrina should be with them. So, why don't you take it to her and let her hold onto to it?" "That sounds like a good idea. I'll do that. Now, go on. Go practice." "Right.' Later on, after about an hour of practice, Alvin got thirsty and went to get a drink of water. Ian, in his janitor disguise, was cleaning gum off the bottom of the bleachers near the water fountain Alvin was drinking from. "I used to love gum. Now I hate it. Seriously, don't they make a solvent for this?" Ian happened to look p and noticed Alvin at the fountain. 'Hey, there's Alvin. Maybe I should 'water the seed' a bit.' Ian once again disguised his voice and went to talk to Alvin. "Hey, kid." "Oh, you again. How's it going?" "Pretty good. Just taking a brake from cleaning gum off the bleachers." "Man, they stick you with hard jobs, don't they? I mean, how old do you think some of that gum is?" "I really don't want to think about it. Anyways, have you been keeping an eye on that brother of yours, like I told you?" "Well, no. I really don't think I have to. Cash is a good guy. He wouldn't stab me in the back like your brother did you." "that's exactly what I thought about my brother. And you know what happened there. Look, kid, I keep bringing this up cause I noticed that you and your brother are in pretty much in the same position my brother and I were. The only real differences are the sport and species of the players. Your in the same spot I was, and I really don't want you to go through what I did. So listen to me. No matter how nice he seems, your brother can still turn on you. I thought my brother was real nice too. I was even planning on having him being my best man whenever I got married. But, then he showed his true colors. And not just that one time. It happened a number of times. He'd purposefully show me up. Eventually, he caught the coaches eye and he made him the captain of the team. And what did I get? Nothing. I was still stuck in same position I'd been in for entire three years that I had played for the school's basketball team. My brother basically used me to springboard his success. And boy did he rake in the success. He even caught the eye of this girl I liked. And you know what happened there? As soon as I told him that I was planning to ask her out, he turned around and broke up with his girlfriend and hooked up with girl I liked. When I confronted him about it, he swore that it wasn't what I thought it was. But, I knew better. And you what, for the rest of my high school life, I never did get a girlfriend. I couldn't even get my brother's ex on the rebound, because she hated him for breaking up with her the way he did and I happened to have the same face as him." "Well, I don't think Cash would do that to Katrina." "But, are you sure? Are you one hundred percent sure?" "Um, well.." "How long have you known your brother? I can just tell that you haven't known him all your life, so, tell me, how long have you known him?" "A few weeks now." "And have you learned everything about him?" "Well, no." "Well, how can trust some one that you don't that well that much?" "Well, he just seems..' "Stop. Don't say it, kid. Remember, nothing is ever as it appears. People put on false faces, 'masks' if you will, in order to get what they want all the time." Ian looked at his watch. "Well, I gotta get back to work. But, remember this kid. You can never truly know what a person is thinking. You can try to. And you can base your prediction on what you know about them. But remember this. I knew my brother all my life, but I still couldn't have guessed that he was thinking of doing what he did. You've only known your brother for a few weeks. He's still, relatively, a stranger. And strangers you can't predict at all. You gotta be careful kid. Remember, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." "Well, I don't think he's an enemy, but, um, thanks for looking out for me." "Sure thing, kid. Well, see you around."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

And so the week went by. The munks practiced everyday after school for the next round of the competition. They had until next Tuesday. Simon was thankful for the increase in the amount of time they had. The chipettes had decided to do Selena Gomez's hit song Naturally, while the chipmunks had decided that it would be okay for them to fall back on one of their older songs in the second round. Thus, they opted to perform We're the Chipmunks. Naturally, since they had more time to prepare, both groups decided to try to add more choreography to their routines, and the chipettes even opted for costumes. Brittany went through all their old things and eventually found the dresses that Ian had gotten for her and her sisters. Though they were originally given to them for the sake of much less than pure intentions, they would now serve to help completely pure intentions along. Brittany viewed it as something 'evil' being put to 'good' use. However, there was an obvious problem. All four chipettes were performing again, but there were only three dresses. Dave told Brittany not to worry, as he would do all he could to find another dress for Katrina. The only thing he said that he needed to know was whether Katrina wanted a silver colored dress, like Jeanette and Eleanor's, or a gold one, like Brittany's. Katrina had chose gold, because she said that she had this idea for the chipettes to do a whole gold and silver theme to their next performance. Brittany liked the idea, and mentioned how it would be playing off the theme of the song from their performance a little bit as well. Once all this was decided, all was that was left to do was to practice and get everything down pat. However, this was not the only practice that Cash and Alvin had to focus on. On Wednesday, they had practiced their special move for the upcoming soccer game until both of them could perform it almost perfectly. And finally, today, Friday, the day of the last practice before the game came. Cash and Alvin worked hard to sharpen their skills as much as they possibly could before the game. At the end of practice, Jason gathered the team one last time. "Okay, guys. Tomorrow's the day. So, tonight, be sure to get as much rest as you can and be ready for tomorrow." "Be lazy for the good of the team? I'm all over that!" Alvin yelled. "Speaking of you, are you and Cash set on your move? Cause I promise that you guys will be seeing some action tomorrow. We're up against a pretty good team tomorrow, so we might just need you guys for a game changing play. And maybe not just once. So, I need to be sure that you guys are set. So, are you?" "I know I am. Cash?" "I'm ready." "Okay then, there you have it. We're both ready and raring' to go. Our opponents ain't gonna know what hit'em!" Jason nodded. "Alright then, until tomorrow, hands in." Everyone layered their hands on top of each other. "Ready? One, two, three!" "Eagles!" Everyone shouted. After this, everyone headed off to go home. Cash and Alvin climbed the steps to join up with the rest of their family. All the while, Alvin was singing. "We are the Eagles! Mighty, mighty eagles!" "Have you ever seen that movie?" Cash asked his red clad brother. "Sure have, and we're gonna kick butt tomorrow just like the titans did in the movie!" "You know it!" Cash said, high-fiving Alvin. Then, he looked up and noticed that Theodore and Eleanor were missing. "Hey, where did Theo and Ely go?" "Oh, they got hungry, so Dave gave them a dollar each and they went to the vending machines around the corner." Brittany said. "You know, now that I think about it, they've been gone a lot longer than what they needed to be." Jeanette said. "I wonder what's keeping them?" "Well, knowing Theo, he probably tried to get his favorite brand bag of chips, but then they got stuck, so he crawled up inside the machine to get'em and then he got stuck." Alvin said. "Man, what's wrong with you, Alvin? Your talkin' so cold about your own brother." Cash said. "Ah, you'll learn, Cash. See, this isn't the first time this has happened. Come to think of it, what is this, Simon? The third or fourth time?" "The fourth I believe." "Wait, a minute, Sy. Your saying, this has happened three times before?" Cash asked. "Yes, unfortunately. You see, Cash. Theodore is practically addicted to these chips, so he keeps forgetting what's happened before. And company that makes these chips makes them so big that the bags just about always get stuck in the machine. And so, it all comes together to make this happen more often than we would like." "Oh, poor Theodore. We should go help him. But, speaking of help, I wonder why Eleanor hasn't come to ask us to help Theodore out?" Katrina asked. "Well, knowing Ely the way I do, I'd say that she didn't want Theodore to get embarrassed from us finding out that this had happened again. And so she's probably standing by the machine, racking her brain, trying to figure out how to get him out on her own and keep this their little secret. But, I don't think Ely can do it on her own. So, come on, guys. Let's go get him out." Alvin said. the munks headed down the hallway and got a quarter of the way to the vending machines, before Cash stopped. His sharp ears picked up some strange sounds. "Hey, guys. Do you hear that?" "Hear what? I don't hear anything." Alvin said. "Cash's hearing must be sharper than ours. A result of his samurai training with Agito no doubt. Tell us, what do you hear, Cash?" Simon asked. "I hear something that sounds like a fight's going on at the end of the hall." "A fight?….Oh, no, Theodore!" Alvin yelled, then charged off towards the end of the hall. Everyone hurried behind him. When they rounded the corner and got to the vending machines, the munks and Dave saw Theodore fighting off some bullies all by himself, with Eleanor standing behind him. Theodore had his claws out and used them to slice open the left index and middle finger tips of one of the bullies. "Ow! That freakin' hurt! I'm gonna kill you, you little…" Cash wasn't about to let the bully finish his sentence. 'Theodore!" he yelled. The bullies heard Cash and looked to see him and the rest of the family. "Darn it! It's the rest of them!" The bully with the bleeding fingers said. He then turned to Theodore. "Listen up, fatty! This isn't over. One day, we're gonna get you and you won't have big brothers to come bail you out!" "Who says I need them? I can take you out all by myself! Matter of fact, I could take you out with one hand tied behind my back!" " 'grr! Let's get out of here!" the bullies ran off. Then the munks ran up to Theodore and Eleanor. "Theodore! Eleanor! Are you two okay?" Dave asked. "Yeah, we're okay, Dave." Eleanor said. "Those guys. It's the same bunch of idiots from the other day." Cash said. "That same ones?" Dave asked. 'Yeah, no doubt about it." "I see. We'll have to talk to Dr. Ruben about this." "Yo, Theo. They're gone, man. So calm down." Alvin said to a still very angry Theodore. "R-right." Theodore then looked down at his hand. He noticed the small amount of blood on his claws. 'Whoa! I really cut him open, didn't I?" "Yeah, I'd say so." Simon said. "I didn't mean to really hurt him. I was just trying to make him go away." "What happened, Theo?" Cash asked. "Well, Ely and I came to get some snacks, and those three just happened to be hanging out here. They saw us and came after us. I guess they wanted payback for the other day. Anyway, they pushed around for a bit, and then, for whatever reason, they started picking on Ely more than me. And the more they did it, the angrier I got. Matter of fact, I was getting angrier than I would've if they were just picking on me. And eventually, I just couldn't take it anymore and I guess I just snapped." "And when he did, he started to fight back against the bullies. He took on all three of them, just like you saw." "Now, that's impressive. Taking on not one, but three people approximately five times your. That's impressive, Theodore." Simon said. "Uh, thanks. But, I was really only doing it for Ely's sake. I wasn't trying to impress anyone." "Well, you sure impressed me, Theodore." Eleanor said. "Just knowing that you were fighting so hard, just for me, it made my heart pound. It…it…oh!" Eleanor gave up trying to explain how she felt and let her actions speak for her. She did this by grabbing Theodore and kissing him. "E-Eleanor." Theodore stammered. "No point in hiding it anymore. Theodore, I love you." "I, I feel the same way about you, Eleanor." "Then from today on, I'm your girlfriend." "Sounds good to me." Cash leaned over to Katrina. "Well, this is a surprise. I thought for sure that I was going to have to put some serious work into this one. But I didn't have to do anything at all." He said quietly. "Yeah. And now, everyone's got what we have. I guess your done playing the hook up guy." She said, equally quietly. "Eh, it's for the best. After all, like I've said before. I'm no relationship expert." "You don't have to be. The only relationship you have focus on is ours." "Not a problem." Finally, after watching Theodore and Eleanor talk with their siblings for a few moments, Dave chimed in. "Well, this all well and good. But, I really think that something should be done to keep this sort of thing from happening again. So, here's the plan. I'm gonna go talk to Dr. Ruben and you kids go out to the car and wait for me." "Can do, Dave. Come on, everybody. Let's go." Alvin said. On the walk back to the car, Cash nudged Theodore. "Hey, Theo." "What?" Cash extended his fist, showing that he wanted Theodore bump it with his own. Theodore completed the fist bump and then Cash said "Wait to go, baby bro. I'm proud of you." "Thanks, Cash."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**The next day, at the big soccer game, Alvin and Cash stood ready with the rest of the team. "Alright, guys, listen up." Coach Ortiz said. " Now, I hate to drop a bomb on you last minute, but, I just found out that this is a championship qualifier match." "A qualifier? Right off the bat? No way! What's going on, Coach?" Jason asked. "Well, as I'm sure you'll remember Jason, we had a strong very showing in the last season." "Yeah, we ended up in third place among the division." "Precisely. That's exactly why we get a qualifier right off the bat. Basically, we've been seeded, boys. And that means that, if we win this match, we automatically jump straight to the quarter finals of the championship tournament and then all we do is wait for our opponents for that match to be decided." "Man, this is cool! " Alvin shouted. 'Yeah, really cool." Cash agreed. "But, it's also a lot to take in. I'm well aware of that. But, please guys, don't let the burden get to you. Despite the ramifications, this is just like any other match we've had with these guys. We can do this." "Yeah, Coach is right. We've pounded these guys into the ground before and we can do it again." One of the team members said. "Yeah and this should be easy with my boys here waiting in the wings." Tony said, looking down at Alvin and Cash. "Right, Jason?" "…Hmmm, yeah! Now that I've had to think about it, I think so. Hmph! Alright! This match is in the bag, boys. So let's get out there and book this thing, so we can go home already!" "Yeah!' The whole team shouted. "alright, everybody, hands in." Coach Ortiz called. The team layered there hands. 'One, two, three!" "Eagles!" "Let's do this! Go, go, go!" Coach Ortiz yelled. And with this cry, the team charged out onto the field. Cash and Alvin took their places on the bench, awaiting their turns. Meanwhile, the West Eastman Eagles soccer team lined up against their opponents. They were called the Tigers and they hailed from a school called Northvale academy. The eagles and Tigers lined up and the ref laid down the rules. Then, he put the ball in play and the game was on. It didn't take long for the Eagles to score their first goal, but the Tigers didn't allow themselves to lag behind. They quickly scored the next goal. And this was how the rest of the game went. Despite the absolute best of showings from both teams' goalies, the back and forth just kept going. Finally, the Eagles used a time out to regroup. "Man, these guys brought their A game today." Tony said. 'Yeah, they sure did. You don't think they got seeded too, do you, Jay?" One of the team members asked. "I don't know. All I know is that they've definitely gotten a lot better. But, we're still ahead. We just need one more goal, and there's only enough time for one for play. Okay, time to bust the secret weapons. Hunter, Chris, you guys swap with Alvin and Cash. "Jason said. "You got it, Jay." Hunter said. "Good luck guys." Chris said. 'Guys, I want you both to smash that ball. I don't care how you pull your special move off, just get it done fast!" Jason said. "You got it, Jason! Come on, Al! Let's go kick some tail!" "Right behind ya, brother!" Cash and Alvin ran out on the field and the game clock started up again. Tony quickly set up and took the shoot. Alvin ran down the field, met with the ball and applied his own kick to it. This increased it's speed drastically, but not enough for Cash. He could see the look in the goalie's eyes. He was in some sort of zone and at this rate, he would catch the ball. So, Cash ran as hard as he could. He summoned every bit of speed he had and quickly caught up with the ball. He jumped into the air and used a back-flip style kick on the ball. This made the ball move even faster. Faster than the goalie, even while zoned in, could catch. The ball slammed into the net and the buzzer signaling the end of the game sounded. "We won! We're in the running for the championship!" Jason yelled. "this could be our! Finally, we may just win the championship." Coach Ortiz said as he looked on. Alvin ran to Cash. "We did it, bro!" "I know! This is awesome!" The rest of the team came running up and huddled around the brothers. They lifted them both into the air and began chanting "Chipmunks, chipmunks, chipmunks!" The Seville family, who were in the stands, began celebrating as well. They began to make their way down the stairs to the field. However, everyone's celebration suddenly got cut short when a player from the Tiger's angrily kicked a spare soccer ball in frustration. The ball went flying and slammed into Alvin. It knocked him to the ground with a sickening thud. Cash quickly had the rest of the team set him down so he could rush to his brother's side. "Alvin! Alvin, are you okay?" "My back! Ah, man, my back!" "He's hurt! Somebody get some help!" Jason called. "It was an accident!" The Tigers team member who had kicked the ball yelled. By this time, the Seville family had made it to the field and rushed to Alvin's side. 'Alvy? Alvy, are you okay?" Brittany yelled. "Ah, my back!" Alvin cried out again. "This sounds bad. Dave, we need to get him to the vet, right now!" Eleanor said. "No argument here, Eleanor. Come on, let's go!" Dave carefully picked up Alvin and took him to the car, followed closely by the other munks. They quickly rushed him to the same veterinary clinic that had run their blood tests for them. They were in luck, as Dave's friend Cora happened to be on duty today and she quickly took Alvin into the back. The family waited nervously for the next thirty minutes. Finally, Cora came back out. "How is he, Cora?" Dave asked. "Well, he's got some cracked ribs." "Cracked ribs?" Brittany yelled. "Yeah. According to the x-ray, he's got three of them. Right around in here." Cora said, pointing out the locations of Alvin's injured ribs using her own ribs. "I see. So that's why he was yelling about his back. Those cracks are so far back on his ribs, they pretty much are in his back." Simon said. "Yes, indeed they are." "So, Cora, how long do you think it'll take him to heal?" Dave asked. "Well, I'm not totally sure. You see, I don't know whether or not Alvin's, how shall I say, uh, 'uniqueness' plays a role in his healing time. If it does, let's all pray that it's role is to shorten his healing time. But, to give you a rough estimate, without thinking about his uniqueness, I'd say a about a week." "A week?" Theodore asked. "Yes, but, that's just a guess based on a past experience of mine. You see, when I was still studying for my degree, I conducted an experiment. I was interested to see just how long it would take animals to recover from injuries you usually only hear about humans getting. My first subject was an injured, normal chipmunk. It had cracked ribs as well. And it took that chipmunk a whole week, all seven days, to heal. So, I'd say your probably looking at about a week for him." "Oh, poor Alvin." Eleanor said. "And he wanted to go on to the next round of the competition so badly." Jeanette said. 'Competition?' "We're in a talent competition, trying to raise money for our school. The next round is this coming Tuesday." Simon said. 'I see. Well, I guess you'll have to change your plans. Because, I'm telling you that Alvin is not to do anything strenuous until his ribs have healed. No sports, no singing, no nothing. Just rest." "Well, I'm sure Alvin wants us to go on, so we'll just have to think of something." Cash said. "I guess you will. Well, I'm gonna go bandage him up, so you can take him home." "Okay, Cora. Thanks." "What are we gonna do now?" Theodore asked. "I don't know, Theo. But, like I said, we'll think of something. We have to. For Alvin's sake, the show must go on."**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Eventually, the night of the second round of the competition arrived. The girls were getting ready, while the remaining boys were trying to figure out what to do. "What are we going to do?" Theodore asked. "Well, we don't have time to pick up another song, so we'll have to do the one we've already picked out." Simon said. "But, Simon, we can't do that one!" Theodore yelled. "I don't see why not." Cash said. "We're the chipmunks is a great song. It'll definitely get us into the next round. So, tell me, why can't we do it?" "Because we don't have Alvin!" Theodore yelled. "Huh?" Cash asked. "You see, Cash, the three of us came up with that song together with Dave. That's one of the reasons that our names are repeated over and over in that song. But, that' beside the point. The point is that we all worked on that song together, so we're kind of particular about how it's performed." "well, that's understandable." And, well, there is another thing. Another reason why we really can't do the song." "And that is?" "Well, we couldn't get up there and have you say Alvin's name when need be. That might put some fans off. So we'd have to change it to accommodate your name. And, well, not to knock you but, your name just doesn't fit like Alvin's does, Cash. I mean, Cash is too short, and Cassius, well, it just doesn't sound right." "I see. Hmm. 'Cash, Simon, Theodore. Cassius, Simon, Theodore.' Yeah, I see your point." "And besides that, like I've already said, it just wouldn't feel right to do the song with out Alvin." Theodore said. "Hmm. Say, you know what? I think I have an idea on how to solve everything." Cash said. "Really? How/' Simon asked. "Wait right here. I'll be right back." Cash darted off. "What do you think he's got in mind, Simon?" Theodore asked. "I honestly don't know, Theodore." Moments later, a very familiar looking munk in red came walking up. He had his hood up and for some reason, he was carrying Cash's black hoodie. "Alright, let's go, guys." "Alvin! What do you think your doing? Your hurt, you can't.." Simon yelled. Cash then pulled the hood of the shirt he was wearing. "Easy, Sy. It's me." "Cash? What are you doing wearing Alvin's shirt?" Theodore asked. "This my plan. For tonight only, I'll disguise myself as Alvin. I'll pretend to be him. Then we can do the song and nobody will be the wiser. And, so long as you just keep pretending that I'm Alvin, you won't feel any different about performing the song with me than you would with him. So, what do you think?" "Well, you did manage to fool us. So, I think it might work. What do you think, Simon?" Theodore asked. "Well, it might. I mean, Cash's appearance is very similar to Alvin's already. And when that hood is up, it casts shadows that cover up everything about Cash's face that separates him from Alvin. Then you can't tell the difference between them physically. Along with that, we don't have to worry about the voice issue. Because, I have to admit, your impression of Alvin was spot on. When you said 'alright, let's go, guys' in that voice, I couldn't tell the difference between you and Alvin. Hmm, yes. I think this might work. So long as you can keep the charade up all night." "Don't worry. I can handle this." "Okay. Um, but, one quick thing. We already know that you can talk in an Alvin like voice., but can sing in one as well?" Cash flipped his hood up and slid into his Alvin voice. "Alvin, Simon, Theodore." "Whoa. Your good." Theodore said. "Thank you, Theodore. Well, that good enough for you, Simon?" "Yes, definitely. But, just to make absolutely sure that this'll work, let me try something." "um, okay." Simon took off and came back a moment later with the chipettes in tow. Cash quickly caught on to what Simon wanted to do. "If I can at least fool Brittany, I've got this in the bag." He thought. "Okay, so what did you drag us over here for, Sy?" Brittany asked. Simon merely pointed to 'Alvin'. "Alvy? What are you doing out of bed?" "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm getting ready to go to the competition." "Are you crazy? You heard what the doctor said. No singing. Jeez, do you want to make your ribs worse?" "No, but.." "But nothing. You can't go, and that's that." "Yeah, yeah. I know. Your not gonna let your precious Alvy go, but luckily.." Cash took off his hood. "I'm not Alvin." "Cash? What in the world?" Katrina asked. Simon explained the plan. 'And as long as we all just pretend he's Alvin, things should go off without a hitch. So, what do you think, girls?" "Well, I don't like lying to everybody, but, they are expecting to see Alvin. And we don't want to disappoint anyone. 'sigh' I guess we don't have much of a choice." Jeanette said. "Yeah. Well, I guess that, so long as everything works out, this should be okay. Right, Brittany?" Eleanor asked. "I guess. But, shouldn't we tell Alvin?" "There's no time. Toby and Julie will be here any second to pick us up." Simon said. Since everyone thought it was best for Dave to stay with Alvin, they decided to call and see if Toby could take the munks to the competiition. He agreed to do so, and said that he would invite Julie to come along as well. Thus, the munks were expecting the doorbell to ring at any moment. "Yeah, Simon's right. And, besides that, Alvin's asleep right now. And, I think it's best to just let him sleep. You know, let him rest and conserve his energy. Hopefully, that'll speed up his recovery time." "Yeah, I know what you mean, Cash. And I really hope that all that rest will heal him up faster too." Brittany said. 'We all do, Britt." Cash said. "So, is the plan cool with you?" "Yeah, go ahead." "Alright. And don't worry. We'll tell Alvin about it later." "Okay." Just then, the doorbell rang. "That has to be them now." Simon said. "Somebody get the door!" The munks heard Dave yell. "I'll get it, Dave!" Simon called. As Simon hopped up onto the nearby table, from which he would jump to the doorknob from, Theodore nudged Cash. 'Hey, Cash. See if you can fool Toby and Julie too." "Okay." Just then Simon leaped from the table, grabbed ahold of the doorknob in midair and then swung his weight to one side, thereby turning the knob and opening the door. He then let go of the knob and dropped safely to the floor. 'We have got to come up with an easier way for us to do that." He muttered. Julie and Toby walked in. "Hey, guys. Long time no see." Toby said. "Hi Toby." the munks said. Toby spied Katrina. "White clothes…You must be the Katrina I've heard about. It's nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you too, Toby." Toby then noticed 'Alvin'. "Oh, hey, Alvin. Sorry to hear about your ribs. And you probably wanted to go to this thing so badly. Oh, well, too bad." "But, Toby, I am going." "Uh, no. Trust me, Alvin. You want to do what the doc told you to do. Believe me. I've had cracked bones before and let me just say that, if you don't follow the doctors rules, bad things happen." " And nobody wants that. Not me, not Toby and especially not your brothers. So please, Alvin, for the sake of all of us that care about you, just stay home." Julie said. At this, point Cash was about to crack up because of how well this plan was working. So, he dropped his Alvin voice went back to his regular one. 'Aw, Julie. I didn't know you cared." "Huh? That voice! That's not Alvin, that's…" Cash pulled down his hood to prove what Julie was about to say right. "Cash!" "Whoa, wait that's Cash? All this time, we've been talking to Cash?" Toby asked. "Yup. You sure have. By the way, nice to meet you Toby." "Uh, nice to meet you too. Um, what's going on here?" Simon explained the plan. "I see. Well, so long as your all cool with it, who are we to stop you? Right Toby?" 'Right. Just do what your hearts tell you to, guys." "Wow, Toby. That was actually kind of deep." Simon said. 'Well, you know me. I'm a very deep guy. Yup. I'm like an onion. I've got lots of layers." "Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Toby. Moving along, isn't it about time we left?" "Yeah, I guess it is. Okay, let's go." Julie said. "Dave, we're going!" Cash yelled. "Okay, guys. Knock'em dead." "We will! Alright. Let's do this!"


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The munks eventually arrived at the competition. Cash flipped the hood of his shirt up and slid into his Alvin voice, so as to not arouse any suspicion. "I just hope Dr. Ruben isn't here. Cause if she is, she'll see right through this disguise. Cause she's bound to know the truth about Alvin. And if she did see through it, who knows what would happen? I don't think she would rat me out, but still, you never can be too sure." Cash thought. 'Alright, guys. We're gonna go find our seats. Break a leg out there." Toby said. "Why would we want to do that? I mean, Alvin's already down with cracked ribs. We don't need someone else to be laid up with a broken leg." Theodore said. "It's a figure of speech, Theodore." Simon explained. "Oh. Then I just sounded really dumb, didn't I?" "Well, not really. I mean, as far as I know, you've never heard that saying before. So, you wouldn't know it's true meaning, right?" "Right." "Well, there you go. Your not dumb, Theo. Your just uninformed." Theodore smiled, nodded and said 'yeah, that's it." Toby tried to repress a laugh while watching this. He managed to regain his composure and said 'Alright, let's go, Julie." "Right. Good luck, guys." "Thanks Julie." 'Alvin' Said. "Alright, let's get going guys." "Lead the way, Alvin." Theodore said. 'Alvin' nodded and the munks headed off. Later on that night, The chipettes stood ready to go on stage. They were the fifth act to go on. "We're next." Katrina said. 'Alright, girls. One last check. Costumes are spotless." Brittany said. "Check." Jeanette said. "Hair's set." "Check." "Nobody's got butterflies." "Feeling fine." "Ready to go." "All clear." Jeanette, Eleanor and Katrina said in succession. "Alright, then. Let's show these people how it's done." "Ladies and gentlemen, representing West Eastman High school, The Chipettes!" The announcer yelled. The girls rushed onto stage and quickly got into position. The bowed their heads, and folded their hands in front of them. Then the music started. The girls gently rocked to the opening beat, before breaking into their dance routine as it came time to sing the first line. Katrina, this time, was singing lead. "How you choose to express yourself. It's all your own and I can tell. It comes naturally. It comes naturally. You follow what you feel inside. It's intuitive, you don't have to try. It comes naturally. It comes naturally. And it takes my breath away. What you do so naturally. You are the thunder and I am the lightning. And I love the way you know who you are and to me it's exciting. When you know it's meant to be. Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally. When you're with me, baby. Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally. Bay-bay-baby. You have a way of moving me. A force of nature, your energy. It comes naturally. It comes naturally, yeah. And it takes my breath away. What you do, so naturally. You are the thunder and I am the lightning. And I love the way you know who you are and to me it's exciting. When you know it's meant to be. Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally. When you're with me, baby. Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally. Bay-bay-baby." While listening to her singing the song, 'Alvin' couldn't help but feel like Katrina was watching him. When looked closer, he noticed that, sure enough, Katrina was looking at him out of the corner of her eye. It was then he realized that she was singing this song to him. This caused him to smile. The girls eventually finished their song, took their bow and headed back to the guys. "That was awesome girls!" Theodore yelled. "Eleanor, you were fantastic." "Aw, thanks, Theo." Eleanor said. "So, when do you guys go on?" Jeanette asked Simon. "We're act number fifteen." "Ten acts beyond us? Last time, there was only a few acts dividing us." "I know. But, there are only fifteen acts left now. So, I guess that…" "I guess they decided to save the best for last." 'Alvin' said. Simon looked at his red clad brother. "Man, he's so good at playing Alvin, that it's almost like he's channeling him." "Yeah, that must be what they're doing." Katrina said. "Well, come on guys. We'd best start warming enough." Theodore said. "Right." meanwhile, at home, the real Alvin had woken up from his long nap. "Ugh, what time is it?" He wondered out loud. Alvin looked at the clock nearby. "Man, it's that late. Everybody must be the competition….I still want to go. Hmm, I wonder if Dave will take me? Dave!" Dave came into the room. "Alvin, please don't shout. It might hurt your ribs." "Well, what am I supposed to do? I don't have a little bell or anything I can ring to get your attention." 'Hmm, I guess your right. Alright then, I'll come up with something. Hmm, I wonder if I still have those old walkie-talkies." 'Hey, Dave?" "yes, Alvin?" "Everybody's at the competition, right?" "Yeah. Toby and Julie picked them up a while ago, while you were still asleep." "Dave, I want to go to the competition." "But, Alvin, you can't perform." "I know that. I don't wanna go to perform. I just wanna be there. I just don't feel right laying here. I feel like I should be there, cheering the others on. Please, Dave. Just let me go cheer'em on." "Hmmm….Well, as long as you don't cheer to loudly, I guess it would be alright. Alright, I'll go get my keys and you change." "Okay." Alvin climbed slowly out of bed and walked over to the dresser. He opened his drawer of the dresser and looked inside. "Huh, I'm missing a shirt." "Probably just got lost in the wash. Don't worry, it's bound to turn up somewhere." A few minutes later, Dave and Alvin left the house. The drive from the Seville house to where the competition was held was thirty minutes long, and as such, when they arrived, the rest of the chipmunks were already on stage and were half way through their song. They walked over closer to the stage to get a better look and were shocked to see an Alvin onstage. They both instantly figured out who the other Alvin was. "Now, why on earth would he dress up like that?" Dave wondered out loud. Meanwhile, Alvin was getting madder by the second. "That janitor was right! I should've been watching him. But, because I didn't, he went and took my place! That no good, back stabbing…" The next line of the song that Alvin heard made him feel sick and want to go home. "We're a band of brothers, loyal as can be." "That's it. I've seen enough. Let's go home, Dave." "but, Alvin…" "I wanna go home now, Dave. I can't stand here and watch this. They're out there lying to everyone and I can't stand it. 'Loyal as can be'? That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. I feel sick. Get me out of here before I hurl." "um, well, okay, Alvin." Dave quickly glanced back at the munks on stage. "What were you thinking boys? Oh, this is going to be a nightmare." He thought before he turned back and took Alvin back to the car. Meanwhile, the rest of the munks finished their song to a roar of applause. After they left the stage, the judging took place and the field was narrowed down to six acts. Naturally, the Chipmunks and the chipettes were among those six. They celebrated in the car on the ride back to the house. "Alright, just one more round to go!" Theodore yelled. "We got this in the bag! The prize money is as good as ours!" Brittany cheered. "Alright, alright. Clam down everybody. Remember, we still have to start working on our last performances." Simon said. 'Ah, don't be such a downer, Simon. We're in the finals, man! We can win this thing!" Cash shouted. " Okay, Cash, you can stop channeling Alvin now?" "Channeling? What are you talking about? I'm just really happy! Man, wait until we tell Alvin about this!"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

When the munks arrived home, Cash intended to tell Alvin about how the second round had went. But, Alvin was already asleep. Cash thought it was best to let his brother sleep, so he merely put the shirt he had borrowed back and changed back into his normal clothes and then left the room. Dave, meanwhile, intended to ask the munks what they had been thinking when they let cash dress up as Alvin. However, all of the kids were tired, and had school in the morning. So, not wanting them to fall asleep in their classes tomorrow, he let it go and sent them off to bed. The week and a half that separated the second and final rounds went by very uneasily. The entire time, Alvin had been very evasive when around the rest of the munks. He had gone so far as to sit at a table far away from the others at lunch time and to stand as far away as possible while practicing for the competition. The munks wondered what was wrong with Alvin. Finally, on the day of the final round, the munks talked about the problem during lunch. "Has anybody else noticed that Alvin's been acting weird lately?" Theodore asked. "Now that you mention it, Theodore, yes, I have." "Me too." Jeanette said. The others nodded. "I wonder what's wrong? I mean, normally, he's really talkative, especially when around us. Now, he'll barely look at us." Eleanor said. "Yeah, and did anybody else see his reaction to Doctor Roberts announcement that he was completely healed the other day? While we were all celebrating, he didn't say a word. He didn't even crack a smile." Jeanette said. "Now that's really strange. Man, it's almost like he's mad at us and he's trying to avoid talking to us." Katrina said. "So, what? He's giving us the cold shoulder or something?" Brittany asked. "It seems that way. But, over what is the question. I mean, can anyone think of something that we've done to make him mad at us?" "Not me." Theodore said. "Me neither." Eleanor said. "Nothing comes to mind." Jeanette said. "Hmm, well, maybe…nah, that can't be it." Brittany said. "What is it, Britt?" Cash asked. "Well, I thought, maybe, he was upset because we got to go and perform at the competition and he didn't." "Well, that can't be it. That's way too childish, even for Alvin." Simon said. "Then what is the problem? I really wish we could get him to tell us." Eleanor said. "Well, I guess there's only one way to do that." Cash said. 'How?" Theodore asked. "Make him tell us. Not right now though. There's a lot of people around and we'd just end up embarrassing him and that would only make him madder. I say we wait until we get home and then make him tell us. That way, there's nobody around but us to see the confrontation and, if he decides to bolt rather than answer the question, he can't really hide anywhere, because we know the house like the backs of our paws." "I guess that Cash is right. I guess that really is the only way. Okay, let's do it." Simon said. The other munks nodded. And so, that afternoon after the munks arrived home, before Dave had a chance to close the door, the munks confronted Alvin. "Alvin, before you go off and do whatever, we need to talk to you.' Simon said. 'About what?" Alvin asked, clearly irritated. "well, we've noticed lately that you've been sort of standoffish around us. Like we've done something to make you mad. So, we want to know, what's wrong?" "Oh, like you don't know." "No, we don't. So tell us." "If you really want to know, then ask Cash." "Me? What did I do?" Alvin walked over to Cash and got right up in his face. "I saw you. The other night, at the competition." "What? You were there?" "I sure was. I had Dave take me, cause I felt like I should be there to cheer you all on. And what do I find when I get there? You. On stage, dressed as me. I saw you impersonating me!" "Well, you see, Al, about that.." Alvin didn't let Cash explain. "And do you know what was worse than seeing you impersonating me? The fact that none of the rest of you seemed to be bothered by it! But, I know why. It's because you all want him to be the leader of the chipmunks, instead of me. That's right! I've already figured it out! I know what your up to Cash. Your trying to replace me!" "What? No, Alvin, I…" "Shut up! Anything you say would be a lie. I know the truth already, so there's no point in listening to your lies anymore. You may have weaseled your way into this family and fooled everybody else, but you can't fool me and the weaseling stops right now!" "Weaseling? Fooling? Alvin, what in the world are you talking about?" Simon asked. "Exactly what it sounds like I'm talking about. Cash is nothing but a con-artist. I haven't figured out his entire plan yet, but I have figured out that it involves tricking all of you and taking me out of the picture. And you know, I'm not even sure Cash is his real name. Matter of fact, I'm not even sure that he really is our brother. I mean, doesn't seem just a little too convenient that two weeks after Simon has his dream about a fourth munk, he shows up? I think that he somehow found out about Simon's dream and decided to use that to turn us into his free ride to superstardom. And I'd bet anything that he made that whole story about that 'Agito' up and probably hired that Rai guy to play along." "Now, Alvin, you know better than that." Theodore said. "Agito was Cash's dad, and you don't make up stuff like that about your dad." "Oh, Theodore. It's so sad to see how far he's pulled the wool over your eyes. Stop playing his little mind game and seriously think about this. If you really think about it, you'll see what I've already seen. Cash isn't our brother. He's just a con artist. But, the con ends now!" Alvin suddenly grabbed Cash by the collar and then pulled him to the door and then shoved him down the steps. Cash landed with a heavy thud on the hard ground. "Cash!" Theodore and Eleanor yelled and then moved to help the fallen munk. Alvin barred the door. "Open your eyes guys! This is what he deserves!" Alvin then looked down at Cash. "Go on. Get out of here!" "Cash, you don't have to listen to him." Jeanette said. "No, Jeanette. Alvin's the leader. He's the voice of the group. So, in the end, his vote's the only one that matters. So, if he doesn't want me around, then that means that the group doesn't want me around." "No, Cash, it…" Eleanor started. Cash stuck his hand up. "Stop, Ely. Don't make this harder than it has to be. If I stay here, it'll only cause more problems. So, to avoid causing you all anymore trouble, I'll go." "Then get moving! Go on! Start running and don't stop until I can't see you anymore!" Alvin yelled. Cash nodded. "Well, it's been nice knowing you all. I'll never forget all you've done for me. Um, I'll send for my things later. 'sigh' Goodbye." Cash then took off running, as fast as he could. "Cash!" Katrina yelled. Alvin grabbed Katrina by the wrist. "Kate, he's a lying con artist. If he lied about being our brother, then he probably lied about liking you too." Katrina tore her wrist free and then stared at Alvin for a moment, before shaking her head and then taking off after Cash. "Katrina, Wait!" Dave yelled. And so Dave took off after Katrina, leaving the munks all by themselves. Simon smacked Alvin in the back of head as hard as he could. "Ow! That hurt!" "I hope it did. That's for being so stupid." "Stupid? What are you talking about? I just saved us from the biggest liar any of us have ever met. He was an even bigger liar than Ian and I didn't think that was possible." "No, Alvin. You didn't save us. And he wasn't lying about anything at all. You managed to do was throw our brother out on the street." "Seriously? He's still got you fooled? Open your eyes, Simon!" "No, you open yours, Alvin!.. Oh, it's pointless to argue this with you. The way you'll realize how stupid you are is if I show you. Stay here." Simon ran and got that paper that had the results of the munks blood tests. "Here. Look at this." Alvin read over the paper. 'In the case of Katrina Seville, tests show that she is a genetic match to Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor Seville. Thus it is concluded that all four girls are sisters. Hey, that's great. Congrats, girls." "Yeah, that's great and all, but what you need to read is the part about us." "Okay, okay. Let's see. In the case of Cash Seville, tests show that he is a genetic match to Alvin, Simon and Theodore Seville. Thus it is concluded that all four boys are…brothers." "That's right! Brothers! Cash really was our brother, and you threw him out on the street, knowing full well that he didn't have anywhere else to go." "I, I…wait a second. If he is our brother, then why was he trying to hurt me by trying to replace me? A real brother wouldn't do that." "No, but a real brother would give up his own identity for a night for his brothers' sake." "What?" "Alvin, Cash was never trying to replace you. He was helping you. See, we didn't feel right about singing 'we're the chipmunks' without you and we didn't have time to learn another song. On top of that, We thought, and Cash agreed, that the song didn't sound right with his name in place of yours in the chorus. And we all agreed that it might put some fans if Cash sang your name instead of his own. And, lastly, we knew some fans would be there, really hoping to see you. Cash wanted to solve all of those problems in one fell swoop, and so he disguised himself as you, giving up his identity for a night, in order to help everyone. He gave up being himself, in order to keep your fans happy. In other words, he did you a favor. And look at the thanks he got." "I, I.. Why didn't anyone tell me about this? Why didn't anybody show me this paper? Or why didn't anyone tell me what cash up to when he dressed up as me?" "Cash told us not to." Theodore said. "Both times, your were hurt and he would've rather had you rest, so you could recover faster, than listen to him." "In other words, he was looking out for his brother's health." Simon said. "Oh, man. But, why didn't you guys tell me after I was all healed up?" "Because we didn't get the chance. We didn't tell you about the tests results, because we couldn't find the time, what with school and practicing and all that. And this last time, well, it was because you wouldn't talk to us. You didn't give us the chance to explain it to you." Eleanor said. Finally realizing how this was all his fault, Alvin sunk to his knees. "Oh my God. I threw our brother out on the street. He was our long lost brother and I just threw him out on the street. I, I…I have to find him! I have to apologize." "That's right. And we'll go with you. Come on, let's go." Simon said. As the munks headed for the door, some strange pellets flew in threw the door from out of seemingly nowhere. "What the?" Was all Alvin had time to say before the pellets burst open and released a thick cloud of fog. However, this was no ordinary fog. If was made of knockout gas. The munks passed out one by one. When Alvin, the last to fall, finally dropped, two familiar men entered the house. It was Ian and Ken. 'Man, those things worked like a charm." Ian said. 'After all the work I put into making them, they should have." Ken said. "Alright. We got six of them. But, Cash and Katrina are still out there." "I know that. I was in the car monitoring the house the same as you. Don't worry, Ian. I'll get you your last freak. And, I've perfect plan for how." Ken went into the house and began to dig around in various places. He finally found what he was looking for. A tape recorder. "I'll record a message on this and that should bring the last two right to us." "Alright. I'll throw these six in the car." "Make sure to take the keys out of the lock on the cage after you put them in." "Don't worry, I will." Ian scooped up the munks and walked out. Ken quickly recorded his message, wrote out and placed a 'play me' note on the player and then followed Ian. Meanwhile, Katrina and Dave had finally found Cash. He was sitting on a mail box, toying around with a splinter of wood that he had ripped off of the wooden post the box sat on. 'Cash!" Katrina called. "Oh, hey, Kate. Hey, Dave." "Cash, come on. Come back to the house with us. You don't have to leave." Katrina said. 'Oh, I know. I never intended on it." "Huh?" Cash jumped down from the mailbox and then walked up to Katrina. "Kate, I thought you knew me better than that. You know I made a promise to Agito and that I never go back on my promises." "So, then, everything you said back at the house.." "Was an act. I thought it would be best to put on an act, and go along with whatever Alvin wanted. That way, I wouldn't make him any madder. Then, I did what Alvin said. I ran until he couldn't see me anymore. Then, I picked out this little spot to play the waiting game in. You know, I'd just hang out here for a while, until I thought that Alvin had calmed down, and then I'd head back." "And you thought of all of this that fast?" Dave asked. "Yup." "Wow. Your really clever, Cash." "Thank you." "Call him whatever you want. I'm just glad he's not gone." Katrina said, throwing her arms around Cash and kissing his cheek. "Sorry if I scared you, Kate." "It's alright. As long you never do it again." 'Well, I hope I won't have to. But, with Alvin, you never know." "Yeah, Alvin. You know, he tried to stop me from coming after you. He said that, if you lied about being their brother, then you were probably lying about liking me too." "Really? Then something must really be wrong with Alvin if he thought that. Kate, I don't just like you, I love you." 'I know. I love you too. But, Alvin tried to convince me that what we had wasn't real. Man, I'll tell you, it took all the will power I had to keep myself from slapping the fire out of him when he said that. It just made me so mad." "Well, your calm now, right?" "Yeah." 'Alright then. Let's head back." Dave and Katrina nodded and they hurried back. When they got back to the house, they saw that there were things spread out all over the floor." "Oh, no! We ran off and left the door wide open. We've been robbed!" Katrina cried. "More importantly than that, where are the others?" Dave asked. "Girls? Simon? Theodore? Alvin! Where are you?" "You don't think that the robbers took them too, do you?" Katrina asked. "I don't know." Cash then spied the player. Ken had left in a place where it would be immediately found. "Hey, check this out." "That's my old tape recorder." Dave said. 'The note says play me. Let's see what the kidnappers have to say." Cash pressed the play button. 'Hello, you little freak." "Ken!" "If your listening to this, then that means that you've come home to find that your precious family has gone missing. Well, I'll tell you where they are. I've got them. And if you want to see them, you'll come to warehouse six at the docks. And, be forewarned. If I see one flash of a cop car's emergency lights anywhere near the warehouse, I'll make it so that you'll never see them again. See you later, freak." Cash's fists clenched until it looked as though his fingers were digging in deep enough to draw blood. "That psycho monster! I'll end him!" Cash ran and got his sword. "Come on, Dave. Get your car keys! We're going after them." "But, Cash, we…" "We don't have a choice, Dave! He's already threatened to kill them if we call the cops. Believe me. Ken's crazy enough to carry out that threat. So we're the only ones who can save them!" "Cash is right! Come on, Dave. We have to get going now!" "Alright. Let's go!"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The munks awoke to find themselves in a cage, face to face with Ian Hawke. "Ah, Ian!" Eleanor cried. "What's going on here, Ian?" Simon yelled. "Isn't it obvious? You're my prisoners. Which means I won. I finally beat you! And now, just as soon as we wrangle up Katrina, the seven of you will start working to rebuild my life!" "Like that'll happen! We'd sooner go mute for the rest of our lives than work for you! And you'll never catch Katrina! She's too smart for you to nab!" Brittany yelled. "Is she smarter than you?" Ian asked, condescendingly. "You just got the drop on us. You didn't out smart us." Alvin said. "Oh yes, I did, Alvin. I outsmarted you. Or, should I say, we outsmarted you." "We?" Ian stepped aside to reveal Ken. 'Ken!" The munks yelled. "That's right. Ken here helped me pull this off. To give credit where credit is due, he came up with the plan that brought us all here and made those gas pellets that knocked you all out." "And what did you do?" Simon asked. "I acted out the plan. And the key word there is 'acted'. I put on one good act, if I do say so myself." "An act?" Simon asked. "Get the fur out of your ears! Yes, I said it. My part was all about acting. And all I had to do, was put on a disguise and talk to Alvin…like this." Ian said, sliding into his janitor voice. "You mean, you were that janitor?" Alvin yelled. "That's right. And, if you haven't figured it out already, everything I told you was made up. I don't have a twin brother, Alvin. I have three younger sisters. And none of them play basketball." Alvin's face immediately went from angry to defeated. "Alvin, what's he talking about?" Brittany asked. 'You remember when you saw me talking to that janitor at school?" 'Yeah." "Well, what I told you, the whole America's got talent thing, was a lie. I made it up instead of telling you the truth and I'm sorry, Britt. It's just that, I was trying to honor that promise I made to you. About learning to get along with Cash." "Oh, Alvy." "Ah! Man, this is good! Watching your faces as you take this all in is so satisfying. Oh, but, Brittany. Don't get mad at Alvin. After all, he was up against my flawless acting. He never stood a chance. It was all too easy to convince Alvin that Cash was out to get him." "So it's your fault that he snapped at Cash!" Simon yelled. "That's right. Please, hold your applause." "Wait a second. You sound like you already knew what happened between Alvin and Cash earlier." Jeanette said. "That's because we did. We've been watching you, waiting for the moment that Alvin would explode. Once that happened, you'd all be divided and at that moment, you wouldn't be able to work together to stop us. Then we just swoop in and finish the job." Ian said. "Alright, that's enough with the evil villain monolog, Ian. We still have to prepare for the arrival of the other two." Ken said. "Alright. I've had my fun. Let's get to work." "The other two?" Eleanor asked. 'He must mean Cash and Katrina. They must've done something to let them know that they have us and now they're using us to lure them here." Simon said. "And you heard what Ian said. He's only after Katrina now, which must mean that, Ken's got plans for Cash." Jeanette said. At this moment, the munks became aware of a banging noise. They looked to see Alvin banging his head against the cage wall. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" He yelled. "Alvin…" Theodore said. "I am the biggest idiot in the whole stinking world!" Simon walked up to Alvin and stopped him from banging his head on the cage again. 'Alvin, now is not the time to be beating yourself up. Right now, we need to figure out a way to get out of this cage." "Right, okay." Meanwhile, outside the warehouse, Dave, Cash and Katrina had arrived. "Okay, so how do we get in there?" Dave asked. "Well, knocking on the front door is obviously out. This obviously a trap and so we need the element of surprise to pull this off safely. If we knocked, they'd have us right where they wanted us." Cash said. 'Okay, then what should we do?" "Hmm." Cash looked around. He noticed a gutter nearby. He ran to it and began to climb up it. Katrina soon followed. "Guys, wait. I can't.." 'Don't worry, Dave. Everything will be fine. Just leave this to us." Katrina said before continuing her climb. "Good luck. And don't worry, I'll find some stealthy way inside for my self." As Dave went to find his own entrance, Cash and Katrina reached the roof. They found a hole in the weathered ceiling and slipped inside through there. They quickly traversed the rafters and made their way down to where the munks cage was. They dropped down right in front of the munks. "Ca.." Theodore began but Simon and Alvin covered his mouth. Cash followed this by putting his finger to his lips, telling Theodore to keep quiet. Theodore nodded and then said, very quietly, "You came for us." "Well, of course I did. After all, what are brothers for?" "Throwing each other out on the street." Alvin said, sadly. "Listen, Cash, I…" "No time, Alvin. Let's just get you guys out of here. Where's the lock on this thing?" "Over here." Jeanette said, pointing to the lock, which was by her foot. Cash ran over and jammed his sword into the lock. "What are you doing?" Eleanor asked. "Trying to break the lock. Just hang on a second." As Cash shifted the blade of his sword around in the lock, though he tried to be quiet about it, he still couldn't avoid making a kind of metallic clinking noise. And, unfortunately, this noise was just loud enough to alert Ken and Ian. They turned to see what was going on. Ian made a move to go after them, but Ken stopped them. "He's mine, remember?" Ken asked quietly. "Then be my guest." Ian said, equally quietly. "Okay, Ian. Start thinking. If you don't come up with something right now, Ken's gonna kill Cash and then you lose your chance to have the whole set of eight." Ian thought to himself. Ken quietly unsheathed his sword, which he had hanging from his belt and walked silently over to Cash. Cash and the rest of the munks never noticed, as they were too busy focusing on the lock. "I think I almost got it." Cash said. He then happened to move his blade up in just the right manner to catch Ken's reflection in it. As such, when Ken went to strike, Cash was able to whip around, push Katrina out of the way, and block the strike with his blade. "Heh, have to admit. That was impressive." Ken said. "I haven't even gotten started yet." Cash said. He then lunged at Ken, making him step back. Cash then jumped from the crate on which the munk's cage sat to the floor. "Cash!" Katrina yelled. "Don't worry about me! Just focus on breaking that lock." Cash said, then turned his attention back to Ken. "I warned you, Ken. If you ever threatened my family again, I'd hurt you. And now, I swear, I'm gonna make good on that promise." "And I made a promise as well. I told you that I'd be the one who ended you. And I'll make good on that promise." Cash raised his sword up to eye level. "Agito wished for this to never happen, but it seems that it was unavoidable. This has been a long time coming, but now, it all comes to an end. Today, one of us is going down." "And I know exactly who that is!" Ken said, sadistically. "That's what you think. Ken, no matter what pain I have to endure, I'm ending this tonight. Prepare yourself!" Cash called, as his anger subconsciously caused his claws to deploy. "Oh, I've been prepared for this for a long time, you little freak! Today, I reap my vengeance!" Cash gritted his teeth together roughly. To think that Ken was still using Agito's death as an excuse to come after him enraged him to no end. " 'GRRR!' Enough talk! Let's do this!"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Cash ran as fast as he could and jumped at Ken, whilst swinging his sword. Ken deflected this attack, but was left no time to counter attack, as Cash was already using his speed and agility to launch more attacks. This fighting style reminded Alvin of a certain fictional warrior. 'Yeah, get'em Yoda!" Alvin cried. "Go, Cash!" Eleanor yelled. 'Take him down!" Brittany cheered. The rest of the munks shouted various cries of support, all except for Katrina, who was busy trying to figure out how to open the lock. Ken saw this and, seeing that Ian wasn't doing anything, yelled to him. 'Quit imitating a rock and stop her, Ian!" Ian jumped at this call and rushed at Katrina. "Kate, look out!" Jeanette yelled. Katrina spun around in time to dodge Ian's dive at her. He slammed face first into the front of the crate upon which the munks cage sat. Alvin took this opportunity to hit Ian in the head as hard as he could. Ian snapped up and looked at Alvin, who was shuffling his feet and whistling innocently. "Heads up, Bald-o!" Katrina yelled at Ian. Ian turned in time to see Katrina as she pushed an old crate moving cart into his shins and bowled him over. She then pushed the cart, at full steam, into the nearby wall. Meanwhile, the rest of the munks sat in awe of just how much energy their siblings were putting into this fight. "We have to get into this battle! Come on, it's up to us to open this cage, guys!" Alvin yelled. "I agree, Alvin, but the question is how? I mean, surprisingly, Ian actually put a proper lock on this cage, and we don't have the key or anything to pick it with." Simon said. Alvin then noticed a certain spot on the cage behind Simon. It was the same spot where he had been banging his head against the cage earlier. "I don't think we need to pick the lock, Sy. Look." Alvin pointed out the spot. Simon looked at where Alvin was pointing. 'Isn't that?" "Yeah. That's where I was banging my head against the cage earlier. Now, look at it. It's all dented up. Now, I know I got a hard head, but, there's no way that I did that on my own." "So then that must mean that this cage.." Theodore said. 'That this cage is a piece of junk, that's right. Looks like Ian got the lock right, but messed up on the cage. That being said, I think that, if we all just rushed the door at the same time, we could bash it open enough for us to get out of here." Alvin said. "Not much of a plan, but it's better than just sitting here. Let's do it." Simon said. The munks all lined up and rushed the cage door. True to Alvin's theory, the door gave way under the munks combined strength and bent far enough out of shape to create a hole, through which the young munks squeezed through and escaped. After that, the chipmunks went off to help Cash and chipettes hurried off to assist Katrina. Just as the munks got within range of Ken and Cash's battle, Ken was flinging Cash from his blade, which Cash had been trying to run up. Cash went flying towards the floor, but his brothers caught him in time. Cash looked to see his brothers smiling faces. "Guys, you escaped." "Well, of course we did. We couldn't just sit by and let somebody try to make mincemeat of our brother, now could we?" Simon asked. Alvin and Theodore nodded in agreement with Simon's statement. Cash nodded in understanding. The brothers quickly did a four way fist bump and then turned to face Ken. "I see. So this how you operate, eh, freak? Couldn't handle me on your own, so you make four on one." "Ken, you never have gotten it, have you? It's never the lone solider who wins the war. It's always the army. That's what Agito always wanted us to be. An army, a unified force. Because, he knew that, no matter how strong one single warrior is, there will inevitably come a time when he would meet his match and fall. But, if the warrior had friends to back him up, then whoever was going to defeat the warrior, wouldn't stand a chance. And that's what Agito wanted. He wanted us to work together, so that none of us would ever fall before our time. That's why he stressed the importance of team work. But, apparently, that's one lesson you failed to learn. I ,meanwhile, learned it well. That's why, while you may call this cheating, I call this my power. The strength I get from working together with my brothers, more than anything else, is my power. And it is that power that will defeat you. Let's finish this, guys!" With this, the munks charged Ken. And, try as he might, Ken could not handle all four munks at once. They extended their claws and swiped and tore at every spot Ken did not protect. Finally, to finish him off, Simon and Theodore ran and got a piece of nearby rope and quickly tied an end around each of them. They then ran in opposite directions and stretched the rope taught. Alvin and Cash then lured Ken over to the rope, which Ken tripped over and fell. He hit his chin as he landed and was knocked unconscious. "yeah! That's what you get when you mess with the chipmunks!" Alvin cried. He then turned to Cash. "Hey, Cash, listen, I…" "Save it, Alvin. I've already figured it out and it's all water under the bridge." "Just don't let happen again." Simon said. "I won't! Chipmunks' honor." Just then, the chipettes came walking up. "Hey, girls. Did you take care of Ian?" Alvin asked. Brittany merely motioned behind her. Alvin looked to see Ian, laying in a heap, over by the far wall. "What the heck did you do to him?" "Do you really want to know?" Brittany asked, in a fairly dark tone. "Uh, you know what? Never mind." The girls laughed at this. "Ah, don't worry, Alvin. You know Ian. He pretty much took himself out. All we did was run circles around for a bit to get him dizzy and then we watched the train wreck unfold." Alvin then laughed. 'Yeah, that sounds about right, eh, Cash?" 'I'd say so." All eight munks then began to laugh. This laughing roused Ken. Ken opened his eyes and saw Cash laughing with his family. This infuriated him and so he grabbed his sword and flung it at Cash. However, Alvin had managed to see this out of the corner of his eye and pushed Cash out of the way just in time. However, the blade continued to fly and it sheered off the valve of an old compressed air tank which had been left in the warehouse long ago. The valve immediately turned into a makeshift missile and flew into a key support column. This set off a chain reaction which caused the old roof to begin to collapse. At around this time, Ian came to, and seeing what was happening, escaped out the back door. The munks meanwhile, scrambled for the front door. However, just as they neared the door, a large beam fell in front of them. They then noticed that a nearby window had been shattered by some debris. Everyone jumped out the window, one by one to safety, with Cash the last to go. However, just as he was about to jump out, Ken grabbed his foot. "Let go!" "Never! I told you I'd be the one who ended you, and this is how I'm going to do it! Now die!" Ken yelled. Just then, the main part of the roof collapsed and the resulting shock wave sent Cash and Ken shooting our of the window. Ken slammed head first into a large metal dumpster, while Cash got flung into the lid of the dumpster itself. Both were knocked unconscious. "Cash!" The munks yelled. They rushed to his aid. "Cash! Come on, bro! Wake up!" Alvin yelled. "Cash! Please, open your eyes!" Katrina begged. At this time, Dave came running around the corner. "What in the?" "Dave, Cash won't wake up!" Theodore yelled. Katrina pulled Cash close to her. "Cash, please, wake up! I need you, so please, wake up!" She looked down at Cash. There was no response. 'Cash!"


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Dave and the munks moved Cash away from the destroyed warehouse, lest something fall on them while trying to revive their fallen friend. They moved him to the car and then moved the car away from the building, for the same reason they moved Cash. All the while, Katrina continuously shook Cash, trying to wake him up. Cash still remained unresponsive. "What are we going to do?" Katrina cried. Suddenly, an idea popped into Alvin's head. "Hey, Kate. Let me try something." Katrina moved over to allow Alvin to try his idea. Suddenly, Alvin grabbed Cash's nose and squeezed it shut. Sure enough, in a few seconds, Cash's survival instincts kicked in, detected that he was suffocating and caused him to bolt up right, releasing Alvin's grip. Cash then, instinctively knowing it was Alvin who had done it, snapped at him. "What the heck, Alvin?" Cash yelled. However, Cash got no answer. He did, how ever, receive the strongest kiss from Katrina that he had gotten to date. When she finally broke away from him, she held him close to her in an extremely tight hug. "Oh, Cash! Please, don't ever scare me like that again." " 'Ack!' Kate, I can't breathe!" "Oh, sorry!" Katrina then released him. Cash then looked to his family. "What happened?" They gave him the quick version. "I see. And where's Ken and Ian?" "Ian, no idea. Ken's still passed out in the alley." Alvin said. "Did you tie him up?" "No. We were too busy with trying to wake you up." Eleanor said. "Hmm. Dave, drive back over to that alley." 'Um, okay." Dave did as asked. Cash looked down the alley. "As I thought. He's gone." 'What?" the munks shouted. They all looked. Sure enough, Ken was gone. "But, Cash, how did you know?" Simon asked. "I knew because I know Ken. If nobody bothered to tie him up, then when he woke, he'd take the opportunity to take off. He's not about to let himself get caught. Not while I'm still alive." "Oh, Cash, will this ever end?" Katrina asked. "Someday. Sooner or later, it will. And I know, I'll be the winner. Because, I've got something Ken doesn't. I've got you guys." "Yeah, that's right. Let Ken come back. Me and Cash will open up a can of whoop…" "Alvin!" Dave yelled. Alvin turned around and smiled sheepishly. Dave merely shook his head and then looked at Cash. "I don't intend to let this battle happen again, Cash. I'm calling the cops." "it won't do any good, Dave. Ken's crafty. Unfortunately, I do believe that he's one of the few people in this world with the skills to avoid police detection. So, calling them won't do any good." "But…" "Dave, the only thing you'd end up doing is getting us in trouble." "How would I do that?" "Look at that mess, Dave. How exactly would we explain that?" "We'd tell them the truth." "Yes, but, with no witnesses to back up our claims, it's our word against some pretty overwhelming evidence." "Well, we could play that recording for them." "That would only prove that Ken threatened us, and was possibly here. But not that he had anything to do with this. Face it, we'd be up a creek. So, not to sound like a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime or anything, but I think it's for the best that we just leave." "But, Cash…" Theodore said. "I know you don't feel right about it, Theo. I don't either. But, seriously, think about it." The munks did think about it, and then nodded in agreement. "Can't say I feel right about this, but, I guess your right, Cash." Dave said, finally agreeing himself. Cash nodded. "Okay, then. What say we get out of here and try to forget that this ever happened?" Alvin asked. "I'm all for that." Cash said. Cash then looked at the clock on the radio. "Oh, crap! Dave, look at the time!" "Oh, crap! The competition! If we don't hurry, they might disqualify you! Hang on!" the munks buckled up and Dave took off. As they drove away, the Sevilles tried to push the entire incident out of their minds. For now, they needed to focus. They soon arrived at the competition. Each group was soon on stage and performed their song. The girls performed According to you, by Orianthi, and the guys performed City is ours, by Big time rush. Cash couldn't help but feel like that the theme of that song fit their day perfectly. Finally, it came down to the elimination part of the show. The acts that would come in third and fourth were eliminated and that left the Chipmunks and Chipettes tied for the lead. "We're tied?" Brittany yelled. "That's right. Which means it's time for a tie breaker, ladies and gentlemen!" The crowd cheered. "Both groups will perform one song, simultaneously, and you all will decide who wins based on which group you think did best!" "So, Chipmunks, Chipettes. Decide amongst yourselves which song you wish to sing." The gang huddled up and quickly decided on a song. "We're gonna do Taio Cruz's Dynamite." Alvin announced. "Excellent choice! Now, then, one more time, ladies and gentlemen! The chipmunks and Chipettes." The gang quickly got into formation as the crowd cheered and music started. "I came to dance, dance, dance, dance. I hit the floor, Cause that's my, plans, plans, plans, plans. I'm wearing all my favorite brands, brands, brands, brands. Give me space for both my hands, hands, hands, hands. Yeah, Yeah. Cause it goes on and on and on. And it goes on and on and on. I throw my hands up in the air sometimes. Saying AYO. Gotta let go. I wanna celebrate and live my life. Saying AYO. Baby, let's go. Cause we gon' rock this club. We gon' go all night. We gon' light it up. Like it's dynamite. Cause I told you once. Now I told you twice. We gon' light it up. Like it's dynamite." The munks sang. Meanwhile, outside, a young couple were headed for the door. "I can hear them! There's no doubt! They're here!" The woman said. 'Well, let's go in and say hi." The man said. And so the two entered the building. From up on stage, Cash could see the two. It was Rai and Kimiko. "Rai! Kimiko!" Cash shouted. He then stage dived and the crowd carried him to them. With no time to say hi, Cash balanced himself between their shoulders and continued singing. "I'm gonna take it all out. I'm gonna be the last one standing. I'm alone and all I. I'm gonna be the last one landing. Cause I, I, Believe it. And I, I, I. I just want it all. I'm gonna put my hands in the air. Hands in the air. Put your hands in the air." As if Cash was actually telling them to do this, Rai and Kimiko raised there hands. As they did, Cash hopped into Rai's hand. 'Rai, fastball special, back to the stage." "You got it." Cash then curled up into a ball and Rai threw him back to the stage. Cash uncurled in midair, flipped into proper position and landed on his feet, on stage. The crowd cheered. The munks then finished the song. The crowd was then asked to submit their votes. Not surprisingly, after Cash's stunts, The chipmunks were voted the winners. The chipettes didn't mind this, however. Because, they knew, no matter which group the crowd had picked, the real winner was always going to be West Eastman. And so, they stood happily by as they watched Dr. Ruben accept the check. Just like before, Dr. Ruben blew kisses at the munks. "When do we get real ones?" Alvin yelled in a joking manner. "I'm tired of these air kisses." Surprisingly, Dr. Ruben bent down, scooped all eight munks, and kissed them all. "That good enough for you, Alvin?" She then asked. "Yup!" Later, the Sevilles sat with Kimiko and Rai. "So, have you heard anything from Ken?" Rai asked, hoping, but not expecting, to hear some good news. "Yeah, unfortunately." Kimiko sighed upon hearing this. "Poor Ken. He'd have himself a great uncle, if he'd just get over his stupid fear." She then looked down at the munks. 'Or, should I say great uncles? And aunts." "Huh?" Eleanor said. "Well, Alvin, Simon and Theodore are Cash's brothers, and Cash is my uncle. And, any brother of my uncle, who isn't my father, would also be my uncle. And, while I know your not related by blood, I'd say that you lot are the closest thing to sisters and a wife that Cash has. And, any wife or sister of my uncle…" 'Would be your aunt!" Eleanor said happily. "That's right. You got it." "Hey, Kimiko?" Theodore asked. "Yes, uncle Theodore?" 'Can I ask you something?" "Sure, anything. We're all family here." "Even me?" Dave asked. 'Well, Sure. I mean, you do take care of them after all. I haven't quite figured out exactly what to call you though. Maybe a great uncle or something like that. Anyways, what's your question, Theodore?" "Well, I've been wondering this since we all started talking. I was hoping somebody else would ask, but they didn't, so here goes. What exactly are you doing here, kimiko?…Your not here to take Cash away, are you?" 'What? No. Theodore, you have to realize that, while I may be older than Cash, Cash is my uncle. Which means, on the ikebana family hierarchy, he outranks me. And that means, I can't really do anything he doesn't want me to. So, whether he stays or leaves, is completely up to Cash. So, what do you say, Cash?" Cash looked Kimiko right in the eye. "Kimiko, you and I will always be family. Nothing will ever change that. Nd how I feel about the rest of the family, that'll never change either. But, for right now, this is where I should be. I can't say what the future will hold. I'm not psychic. But, for right now, this is where I belong." "Then you should stay where you belong. There, that settles that. Happy, Theodore?' "Yeah, but, um, it still doesn't answer the question of what your doing here." "Well, mostly, I just wanted to see Cash again. But, we do have a serious reason for making the trip. Cash, I have something important to ask you and your siblings." "Okay, shoot." "Well, I'd like to know if you'd be part of the official wedding 'court', I guess you'd call it. Basically, I'd like to know if you and your brothers would be part of Rai's groomsmen and if the girls would be part of my bridesmaids." Cash quickly glanced back to his family. They all nodded. "Kimiko, we'd be honored." "Oh, Thank you!" (A month later) "Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." As Rai and Kimiko sealed the deal, Eleanor began to cry. "Heh, guess we now know that Ely cries at weddings." Brittany said to Jeanette. "Well, it is a beautiful moment." "True." Meanwhile, Katrina stared enviously at Kimiko. 'Someday, that'll be me." She then looked to Cash. Cash caught her stare and, as if reading her mind, gave her a quick wink. Then, suddenly, Cash sensed something. He looked to the doorway. There stood Ken. He stood there only for second, giving Cash no time to even wonder how Ken had found this wedding was, since he wasn't invited. In that split second though, Cash did see something. He could have sworn that he saw Ken smile as he watched Rai and Kimiko, like he was happy for them. "At least we agree on something. We both like seeing Kimiko happy." Cash thought. Ken then walked away. "Next time we meet, Ken, I hope we can bury the hatchet." (Days later) "Okay, guys. Here's some money go down to the arcade and I'll meet you there in half an hour." "Okay, Dave." As the munks walked down the street, they heard a familiar voice. "I promise you. I'll make you bigger than the chipmunks!" 'Is that, Ian?" Alvin said. They turned down a nearby alley and confirmed that it was Ian. He was with two chipmunks, who they heard Ian refer to as Harry and Charlene. "Think we should warn them?" Cash asked. "Of course!" The others yelled. 'Then let's go!"


	28. Chapter 28

Bonus chapter

My interview with Alvin.( This really isn't an official part of the story. It's just for laughs.)

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a very special guest with me today. Please welcome, the lead singer of the chipmunks, Alvin Seville!" Alvin quickly joins me. "Hello, Alvin. It's good to have you here. Thanks for doing this." "Hey, no problems. Anything for the fans, right?" "Yeah. So, Alvin, since I know you're a busy munk, I'll just get right down to the questions that I'm sure our fans would like to have answered." "Alright." 'So, first of all, where did you and your brothers get your names?" "Well, Cash got his from his first human dad, Agito Ikebana, God rest him. He named him Cassius, after Mohamed Ali, mostly due to the fact that he loved boxing. But, he usually goes by Cash." "Alright, but what about you, Simon and Theodore?" "Well, that's pretty weird actually. See, I've always said that our chipmunk parents were hippies, and they left us early to join the commune. So, you would think that, if they meant to leave us that early, they wouldn't bother to name us, but they did. As for how, well, they left us with there little pieces of wood, which they somehow carved out names into. As our ability to talk came in, so did our ability to read. I know weird, but that's the way it happened. Anyways, we read those little, I guess you could call them name tags, and that's where we got our names." "I see. Well, that's that I guess. Now, onto the next question. Has any of you ever tried to figure out how and why you can talk, let alone sing?" "Simon and Jeanette have. They talk about it every now and then. I honestly don't understand a word they say when they talk about it. They've told me theories and, well, trying to understand them makes my brain hurt. Then again, listening to Simon explain anything scientific makes my brain hurt. I don't know why that is." "Hmm-mm. Speaking of Simon, since he's the tallest, does that make him the oldest too?" "No. Actually, near as we can figure, I'm the oldest, then Cash, Sy's the 'middle kid', and Theo's the 'baby'. It's all in a matter of seconds but, in my book, it counts. Being the oldest means I'm in charge, haha!" "I know what you mean. I'm the oldest of five kids myself. Huh, you know I never thought about it, but, actually kind of hard not to feel a sort of power over your younger siblings when you're the oldest, isn't it?" "Exactly. But then again, just cause you got the power of being the older brother, that doesn't mean that your younger brothers and sisters will listen to you." 'Yeah, even when you really wish they would." "Yeah." "Alright, enough on that. On to the next question. Huh, well, what do you know. It's another one about you and your brothers." "Okay. What's it say?" "Well, it talks about some rumors that, for first few weeks after he started living with you, you and Cash didn't get along. Is this true and how are things now?" "Well, it's sad to say this, but, it's true. Cash and I didn't exactly see eye to eye. But, that was my fault. I'll admit that. I took some stuff he did way out of context and I ended up blowing up at him. But, alls well in the kingdom now. Me and Cash, we're best buds, along with Sy and Theo. And that's how brothers should be right?" "Right." "Don't get me wrong, we still argue and stuff. But, that's just normal for brothers, right?" "Exactly. I may not always agree with my brothers, or my sister, but if they need me, I'm right there." "Same here." "Well, our time's running out, so one last question. Are you planning on releasing any new albums soon?" "Um, not right now. We got a tour coming up though. So, be sure to check that out." 'I'm sure we all will. Well, Alvin, thank you for your time." "Hey, thanks for having me. Later!" "And I'll see you all later. Goodnight."

Well, there you go. Hope you got a laugh or two and some inspiration out of that. Now, for a serious matter, I'll be leaving Cash and company for my next story. It'll focus on Alvin as the hero, as will a few others after that. But, for those of you who love and Cash and Katrina, don't worry. The gears are already turning in my head, and I'll be bringing them back soon enough. Till then, please enjoy my next story, simply titled 'The Alvin story'. Later.


End file.
